Vaccine Mandate For Philly City Workers Delayed 10 Days

PHILADELPHIA — The coronavirus vaccine mandate for employees of the City of Philadelphia has been delayed, officials said Friday.

According to the city, the mandate is being delayed to Jan. 24, giving city workers 10 days to comply with the city's policy.

The delay comes as city officials negotiate the policy with labor unions, as required by law.

Unions involved are the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), AFSCME District Council 33 (DC 33), AFSCME District Council 47 (DC 47), and Local 22 (Firefighters).

Union representatives and city officials are in discussions regarding the mandate.

As negotiations are underway, officials said the vaccine mandate date could be changed again.

"As vaccines continue to be the best way to protect Philadelphians and save lives, we’re proud that nearly 22,000 City employees have gotten vaccinated and at least another 1,300 have an approved exemption to the vaccination mandate for City employees—representing nearly 81 percent of all City employees," Mayor Jim Kenney said. "We also commend those employees who’ve taken the first steps to getting vaccinated—receiving at least one dose of the vaccine by today."

The city announced the following updates as it continues to work to implement its workforce vaccine mandate previously announced in November 2021.

The first union to agree to the mandate was with DC 33 and the city reached an agreement with DC 47 Friday.

One of the conditions in the City’s agreements with DC 33 and DC 47 is that any eventual deal with the other labor unions that includes more favorable terms must automatically be extended to their members—including any extension to Friday's deadline to either get a first dose of vaccine or submit an exemption request.

The city expects a full award from the interest arbitration panel governing the FOP contract to be handed down in the next two weeks.