Two South Bay cities not yet ready to impose vaccine mandates

Two South County cities said they will not consider imposing a vaccine mandate until after the approval of a pending federal government rule that will require employers with at least 100 workers to have their employees vaccinated or tested for COVID-19.

President Joe Biden announced on Sept. 9 a plan that will require workers to get inoculated as a condition of their employment or undergo weekly tests, as millions of Americans remain unvaccinated.

He also ordered the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which enforces workplace safety standards, to establish the rule for larger employers. Though it is still under development, the order will require employers to provide their workers with paid time off and penalties could reach $14,000 per violation, according to the administration.

Some jurisdictions, such as the county and city of San Diego and Chula Vista, have already issued some form of vaccination mandate policy. To date, Imperial Beach and National City said they will wait on the forthcoming OSHA rule.

“We don’t have a vaccine mandate in place. We’re waiting for additional guidance from OSHA on their recently released draft rule requiring mandatory vaccination for certain employers before we consider any policy changes,” Tony Winney, National City’s assistant city manager, said in an email.

National City has been using self-attestation forms as proof of vaccination. Its workforce, with 355 employees, was 79 percent vaccinated, Winney said.

The topic reached the dais Wednesday in Imperial Beach, where council members discussed a slew of options that broke down how, if at all, the city would require its 126 total employees (96 of whom are represented workers) to get inoculated.

Those options included mandating vaccines as a condition of employment, either for all workers or its 25 non-represented employees, extending the city’s proof of vaccination period from Sept. 9 to Dec. 15, or just continue encouraging people to get the vaccine.

Before council members weighed in, residents offered mixed feelings about a requirement. Some cautioned that a mandate could worsen the local and nationwide labor shortages, bring lawsuits against the city if an employee had an adverse reaction to the vaccine, or create workplace divisiveness. Others worried that without a vaccinated workforce, the community remains at risk.

“Government plays an important role in protecting the health of its constituents, and those responsible for ensuring that their employees and the people with whom they interact are safe,” said Sandra Brillhart. “The percentage of (Imperial Beach) employees who remain unvaccinated, despite the overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective is troubling and threatens the well-being of other employees and the general public.”

As of Wednesday, the city’s most vaccinated departments included Parks and Recreation (100 percent) and administration at (86 percent). The least were Maintenance and operation (48 percent) and Public Safety (33 percent). The last two departments also had the highest percentage of employees who declined to show proof of vaccination, with public safety at 58 percent and maintenance and operation at 46 percent.

David Garcias, a representative of Service Employees International Union, which represents some Imperial Beach city workers, said the union encourages employees to get the vaccine.

“SEIU is in support of universal vaccinations, but we also want an opportunity to sit at the table to be able to talk about exemptions, in the event of religious or medical issues, and we want to have a safe workplace,” he said.

Mayor Serge Dedina said he was “shocked” by the local vaccination rate and was expecting “them to be better.”

Council members shared the belief that workers have a responsibility to protect the public they serve.

“We swore a constitutional oath of office to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the communities that we represent and I do believe that it starts with order in our own house,” said Councilmember Paloma Aguirre.

They agreed to revisit the topic in 30 days with an updated vaccination rate and potential guidance on the federal mandate rule.