600 Mecklenburg employees could face suspension for not complying with COVID test rules

Nearly 600 Mecklenburg County employees have been deemed non-compliant with the county’s coronavirus vaccination and testing protocols, and are subject to suspension, a county email obtained by the Observer shows.

It was not immediately clear how many people were suspended.

But the county said in a statement to the Observer Wednesday that non-compliant employees would receive suspension notices starting Wednesday. Those employees will remain on unpaid suspension until they are able to provide proof of a vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test, according to the county.

“The county has enacted this process to meet the highest standard of COVID-19 prevention possible,” the county said in a statement.

George Dunlap, chairman of the county commissioners, told the Observer Wednesday that suspensions started Tuesday.

In the email obtained by the Observer, County Manager Dena Diorio sent a list Wednesday breaking down by department the 598 non-compliant employees.

That includes all employees who did not submit proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

The county will continue working with those employees to bring them into compliance with the COVID-19 program, Diorio said in the email to county officials.

Nearly 70% of the county’s nearly 5,200 full-time employees are fully vaccinated, county officials said last week.

Breakdown by agency

The non-compliant employees make up 13.5% of current active employees, according to the county.

Nearly half of the non-compliant employees — 290 workers — are full-time county employees. The other 308 employees are part-time or temporary workers.

Library and Sheriff’s office employees were excluded from the list, because those agencies have separate Human Resources offices, according to the county. That means the total number of workers who could face suspension could be higher than 600.

Park and Recreation had the largest of non-compliant employees, with 221 deemed eligible for suspension. Of those employees, 185 are part-time or temporary employees.

The Department of Social Services had the second-highest number of non-compliant employees, with 128 deemed eligible for suspension. Some 119 of those employees are full-time workers.

The Board of Elections had the third-highest tally with 101 non-compliant employees; 99 of those employees are part-time or temporary.

Employees required to be vaccinated

All Mecklenburg County Public Health employees are now required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Diorio stopped short of mandating vaccinations for other government workers, although she did impose a weekly COVID testing requirement for people who chose not to get immunized.

“Unvaccinated Mecklenburg County employees who have not submitted a negative COVID-19 test in the last seven days will receive suspension notices starting today, and will remain on unpaid suspension until proof of a vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is confirmed,” county spokeswoman Tammy Thompson said in a statement Wednesday.

Dunlap said Mecklenburg is still vetting whether all employee suspensions are warranted. There are likely some employees who did not submit their information properly but did get tested for the virus, Dunlap said.

“If they are officially suspended, they have to comply with the rule, which they means they need to submit the (COVID-19 test) information on a weekly basis,” Dunlap said.

The action offers the clearest picture to date of what Mecklenburg’s disciplinary process entails. Officials had not disclosed punishments when they announced vaccine and testing rules.

While the county previously provided a breakdown of vaccination rates by department, similar information was not released Wednesday for suspension notices.

It’s unclear which type of county employees, including those with management positions or more interactions with the public, are now suspended.

Vaccine incentives

Diorio had announced the coronavirus regulations for employees in early August, amid a crush of new infections spurred by the highly contagious delta variant. The goal is “to meet the highest standard of COVID-19 prevention possible,” Thompson said Wednesday.

Mecklenburg has enacted stricter coronavirus protocols for employees than the city of Charlotte.

City Manager Marcus Jones has not announced a weekly testing requirement yet. But he signaled he would consider a vaccination mandate this fall, depending on how many employees remain unprotected.

Charlotte government workers can get a $250 reward if they are vaccinated by the end of the month. If the workforce hits a vaccination rate of 75%, all immunized employees will get another $250.

Some 62% of nearly 8,000 Charlotte government employees are at least partially vaccinated, the city said earlier this month.

Mecklenburg has not relied on similar vaccine incentives for workers.

COVID trends

Some of Mecklenburg’s coronavirus trends, including hospitalizations and the rate of positive tests, showed some improvement in the past week — despite remaining extremely elevated compared to this time last year.

On average, Mecklenburg is logging 560 new infections daily, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. At this point in June, the daily average was 42 new cases.

Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris has said that coronavirus cases will likely climb due to Labor Day gatherings and the return of in-person learning, plus upcoming fall and winter holidays.

As of Wednesday morning, 59% of Mecklenburg County residents are at least partially vaccinated, according to N.C. DHHS. Statewide, 56% of North Carolinians have received their first shot.

This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 2:40 PM.