New York City's city hall is confirming that 1,430 municipal workers, or less than 1% of the city's workforce of 370,000 employees, have been fired for either refusing to have a full course of COVID-19 vaccines or for not submitting proof of the shots.
"Our goal was always to vaccinate, not terminate, and city workers stepped up and met the goal placed before them," Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement, reported Politico Tuesday. "Out of all the new city employees who received notices two weeks ago, only two who worked last week are no longer employed by the city. I'm grateful to all the city workers who continue to serve New Yorkers and 'Get Stuff Done'’ for the greatest city in the world."
Of the workers who lost their jobs, 1,428 were employees who were placed on leave and who had opted out of health coverage for refusing to get their shots. The other two were new hires who had gotten their first dose of the shot but didn't provide proof of a second dose of the vaccine.
Almost another 1,000 city workers who were on leave without pay decided to get the shot before last week's deadline.
Most of the people who are now unemployed worked for the New York City Department of Education, which lost 914 staffers, beyond the 700 staffers who had been anticipated to be fired.
The DOE employees, along with people in other agencies, have not collected paychecks since November 2021, but still were holding onto their jobs, city hall noted.
"They have not been teaching in schools, patrolling our streets, or maintaining our parks — yet they have been taking salary lines away from agencies and stopping the city from hiring individuals who are willing to do the jobs New Yorkers need them to do," the announcement stated.
Overall, 30 agencies lost staff members. Others losing the most included the city's Housing Authority, with 101 workers; the Department of Correction, with 75; and the Department of Sanitation, with 40.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio began the vaccine mandate in October, replacing a test-or-vaccinate rule that had been in place. Adams opted to keep the termination policy.
Meanwhile, the new mayor's administration has reinstated $100 incentives at some sites for people who are either getting their first dose of the vaccine or a booster shot.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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