ANN ARBOR, MI – Ann Arbor set a deadline on November 19 for city officials to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or possibly lose their jobs, and most responded to the call.
At 5 p.m. on Friday, the city hit 96% mandate compliance, said deputy city administrator John Fournier.
The city has a full-time equivalent of around 785 employees.
“There are three police officers and four firefighters who are not following the rules, but they have until the start of their next shift to produce proof of vaccination, which could extend until next week,” said Fournier.
According to an agreement the city has made with AFSCME, one of the city’s largest unions, its members now have until Monday November 22 to report their vaccination status, said Fournier.
“For these reasons, I expect our numbers to improve slightly over the weekend and throughout the day on Monday,” he said, pointing out that a more detailed update will be made available to the city council on Monday.
The council approved the vaccine mandate first announced by the city administration in August. The city postponed the vaccination deadline several times while trying to negotiate compliance with the city unions.
The Ann Arbor Police Officers Association sued the city last week trying to prevent the mandate from going into effect, but a judge ruled in the city’s favor this week.
According to city guidelines, employees who are not vaccinated will be put on unpaid leave. After that, they will be discharged if they still haven’t been vaccinated within 30 days. The directive allows exceptions for religious or medical reasons.
Six individual Ann Arbor police officers joined the police union as joint plaintiffs in the mandate lawsuit. In a court file, they cited concerns about “the irreversible and irreparable effects of vaccination on the human body”.
City officials believe the vaccine is a safe and effective way to protect workers and the public from the deadly virus that is still spreading around the world, killing millions of people.
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