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Clock Is Ticking On Terminations For LA County Employees Who Refuse To Show Proof Of Full Vaccination
More than 80% of L.A. County's 100,000-plus workforce is vaccinated. Now the county is taking steps to discipline workers not in compliance.
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Courtesy L.A. County
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Hundreds of Los Angeles County employees already have been suspended for violating coronavirus policies. Now the clock is ticking on possible terminations.
The county has a huge workforce, close to 100,000 workers. So far, officials say four people have been terminated and another 10 may soon follow.
County employees were ordered to show proof of full vaccination by Oct. 1. Here's what we know about compliance:
- More than 82,000 have been vaccinated
- About 5,100 have applied for a medical or religious exemption
- About 900 others have been suspended for failing to comply with the vaccination mandate or failing to apply for an exemption and submit to regular testing.
Here's a look at the timeline released by the county:
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Courtesy L.A. County
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County officials said the process "starts the day an employee receives a Notice of Vaccination Requirement from their department."
The timing of that notice depends on which department they're working for, for example healthcare workers had earlier dates for required vaccination under state guidelines.
Once a notice is delivered, an employee has 45 days to comply. This is to allow adequate time for that individual to get fully vaccinated.
If an employee fails to make that deadline, the are suspended without pay for five days. At that point, they return to work and have another 30 days to meet the requirement.
If they still fail to prove vaccination, they will be notified that the county intends to terminate them and that initiates a disciplinary process.
"Finally, once the disciplinary process is complete and the discipline is upheld, the employee receives a Notice of Discharge and is terminated from county work," said Andrew Veis, who heads the county's communication office.
L.A. County officials did not immediately respond to our request for a breakdown of vaccination rates by departments.
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Countywide, about 67% of residents are considered fully vaccinated and 75% have at least one shot.
Updated December 30, 2021 at 3:42 PM PST
This story updated with a more complete breakdown of the timeline for notification, compliance and termination under the mandatory vaccine requirements.
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