Unvaccinated Phoenix Employees To Get Less Premium Pay

PHOENIX, AZ — The city of Phoenix's essential workers will be getting some extra money for their dedication throughout the pandemic, but those who are vaccinated will be paid three times more than the unvaccinated.

The Phoenix City Council voted Wednesday night to approve the premium payments to essential city workers, an agenda item that had been delayed from the council's Dec. 1 meeting.

The payments of $1,500 for eligible full-time city workers who are vaccinated for COVID-19 by Jan. 18 and $750 to part-time vaccinated workers are funded with money provided to the city through the federal America Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Eligible workers who are unvaccinated as of Jan. 18 are set to receive payments of $500 for full-time workers and $250 for part-time workers, according to City Council documents.

The city had previously announced that all of its workers would be required to be vaccinated by Jan. 18 or face losing their jobs, but Phoenix pushed pause on that requirement after a federal in Georgia made a ruling that temporarily blocked a mandate for all employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated.

Premium pay is meant for workers who performed essential tasks throughout the pandemic, according to city documents. Premium pay will not go to city employees who worked remotely through the pandemic.

The payments are expected to cost the city $25-$29 million, all funded through money awarded to the city through the American Rescue Plan.

The city was awarded a total of $396 million from the Rescue Plan. It has already received $198 million and expected to receive the second $198 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year.