Thousands of Chicago city employees could soon be without pay for not complying with a policy requiring the first COVID shot by Sunday's deadline.
Employees who fail to comply will be placed in a non-disciplinary, no pay status until they come into compliance, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement Friday evening. Those decisions, however, will be "addressed at an individual and department level."
At least 2,800 CPD employees have yet to receive their dose of the COVID vaccine, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara told NBC 5.
Catanzara received the support of 12 Chicago aldermen who sent Lightfoot a letter Friday, saying, "We demand the city to issue in writing that no city employee will be disciplined or terminated." The aldermen also asked for "an open and fair exemption process."
Last month, the city won an arbitration case after months of wrangling with the police union over the requirements.
Of the approximately 2,800 CPD members who haven't complied with the policy, Catanzara says he believes 90% have filed exemptions that have not been formally reviewed.
"They didn't even acknowledge any of the contentious objections that we submitted," he said. "They were summarily denied."
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