Federal Court Mandates Vaccination Or Testing For Its Employees

CHICAGO — Everyone who works for the Northern District of Illinois must be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus or face a mask mandate, twice-weekly testing and a business travel ban, court officials announced.

Chief Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer announced the new policy would apply to every employee and contractor for federal district and bankruptcy court, including pretrial services and the probation office.

“COVID-19 vaccinations are the very best available line of defense against this virus. Many of us work directly with the public, and all of us have a responsibility not only to one another, but also to the members of our community who come before us,” Pallmeyer said in a statement.

“When members of the public enter the courthouse, they are entitled to be assured that the Court has made every effort to keep them safe from COVID-19," she added.

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The federal court's vaccine-or-testing mandate applies to about 680 people working in Chicago and Rockford, according to a spokesperson for the court. They now have less than two weeks to disclose to their bosses whether they have yet been vaccinated.

"Those who decline to disclose their status by August 16 will be deemed unvaccinated, and therefore will be required to wear a mask at all times in the workplace, to be tested twice a week, and will be prohibited from any out-of-district work-related travel," court spokesperson Julie Hodek told Patch in an email.

Court officials said last month that they believe the Northern District of Illinois, where in-person jury trials resumed in April, was the first court to implement a coronavirus screening program.

As of late last month, the program had administered more than 12,500 saliva tests to employees, case participants and potential and empaneled jurors.

The court also hosted a free walk-up coronavirus vaccination clinic in the lobby of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse from June 29 to July 14, offering jabs to attorneys, jurors, people attending naturalization ceremonies and passerby.