2021 General: Philadelphia City Commissioners to Require Vaccinations for All Commissioners and Exempt Employees

Mandate Would Cover All Non-Civil Service Elections Staff

Philadelphia, PA – Today, following similar action by Philadelphia City Council, federal, state, and local governments around the country, the Philadelphia City Commissioners announced that they will mandate that the commissioners and all exempt employees of the department receive their second shot of a two-dose series or a single-dose vaccine by September 17, 2021 in order to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 1, 2021. This mandate would cover all of the non-civil service staff of the Office of the City Commissioners: the three elected Philadelphia City Commissioners, their executive office staff, and the Executive Director of the Board of City Commissioners. There will be double masking and, beginning September 17th, weekly COVID-19 testing requirements until full vaccination status is achieved.

Accommodations for religious or medical reasons will be reviewed upon a written request, with accompanying religious or medical documentation. Those receiving an accommodation will be required to double mask and undergo go weekly COVID-19 testing, beginning September 17th.

The vaccination requirement for all new city employees, which are set to begin on September 1st, will go into effect immediately for all new exempt employee hires in the department.

"This action is to ensure the health and safety of our tireless staff and preserve our ability to successfully conduct the upcoming elections,” said City Commissioners’ Chairwoman Lisa Deeley. “Recently, the Delta variant has been spreading across the United States, with the CDC recently elevating Philadelphia to ‘High’ level of community transmission. 90% of the work that our staff does has to be done in-person. Whether it is maintaining the fleet of over 3700 ballot marking devices, or entering voter registrations or mail ballot forms into Pennsylvania’s secure registration database, it has to all be done in-person. An outbreak among our staff could jeopardize democracy in Philadelphia.”

The Philadelphia City Commissioners encourage every Philadelphian to get vaccinated in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. For more information on the vaccines or to find a vaccination clinic near you, please visit www.phila.gov/vaccine.