Mandatory Vaccinations, Tests For State Workers On The Table: Gov

CHICAGO — Ahead of this week's anticipated announcement from the White House of a new policy requiring that federal employees either be vaccinated against the coronavirus or undergo repeated testing, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday he is considering imposing a similar mandate for state workers in Illinois.

Pritzker said getting a COVID-19 vaccine was safe, convenient and the responsibility of everyone who has the ability to do so. About 72 percent of eligible Illinoisans have received at least one jab of a vaccine, and more than half of the total population is fully vaccinated, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"We're looking strongly at the idea that there are people in sensitive positions, especially in state government who we want to make sure get vaccinated," Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Wednesday. "So we're evaluating how best to get that accomplished. But I promise, [mandatory testing for the unvaccinated] is something that, among other mitigations, we're very focused on."

The governor was asked how he would work out a vaccination requirement with unions representing public employees but did not answer directly.

"Let me be clear, my number one focus is the safety and health of people are under the care of the state of Illinois," Pritzker said.

"So certainly, the first line of focus for me is making sure that those who are serving directly, for example, the developmentally disabled or our veterans, or others who in close contact with them and would be most likely to have the inability to socially distance and to stay away from those vulnerable people," he continued. "Those are our first line of folks that I'm focusing on, but certainly looking on a broader group as well."

Earlier this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that all unvaccinated employees of the nation's most populous state would need to tested at least once a week starting Monday.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the nation's largest municipal workforce would, starting in September, also be subject to mandatory vaccination or regular testing.

And Denis McDonough, secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, announced on Monday that all health care personnel who work at VA facilities or provide care for the veterans it serves would need to get vaccinated by Sept. 20.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidance in May that federal non-discrimination laws does not prevent employers from mandating that workers be vaccinated for COVID-19 as long as they comply with "reasonable accommodation" requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Last month, a federal judge in Texas tossed out a challenge to the employee vaccination requirement in Houston Methodist Hospital system. And last week, a federal district judge in Indiana rejected a request from a group of Indiana University students to block the university's requirement that students and staff prove that they are vaccinated or request an exemption.