MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said 95.3 percent out of 3,156 city employees subjected to the vaccine mandate have complied on Monday.
Officials say the latest count shows a little more than 100 employees have neither been vaccinated nor received an exemption.
City of Milwaukee employees had until Friday, Oct. 29 to submit proof of their COVID-19 vaccination. Workers had 60 days to comply.
"That is good news for our entire community," Mayor Barrett said in a statement Monday. "The more people who are vaccinated, the safer we all are."
On Tuesday, Oct. 26, only 77 percent of employees were in compliance. By Friday, Oct. 29, that number jumped to 91.2 percent. The city's Employee Relations Department told TMJ4 last week that nearly 2,900 workers had submitted their proof of vaccination or had an approved accommodation request. 44 employees were listed as still waiting on an accommodation decision. Excluding that group, a remaining 231 employees were not in compliance with the vaccine policy. This data does not include temporary election poll workers, elected officials, members of the Milwaukee Fire Department, and members of the Milwaukee Police Department. However, those groups may be subject to separate mandates. For example, the city's police union has rolled out it's own vaccine requirement.
Workers who did not submit their proof of vaccination were suspended after Friday, Oct. 29 for up to 30 days. If they do not comply within the time of their suspension, they will then be fired, according to city guidelines.
Mayor Barrett said individual departments are adjusting plans in order to continue providing necessary municipal services.
