Thousands of WNC teachers, deputies, others subject to Biden vaccination, testing mandate

ASHEVILLE - New federal rules will require thousands of local school and law enforcement employees to either be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.

U.S. Labor Department officials recently confirmed that federal testing mandates announced Sept. 9 by President Joe Biden for private businesses with 100 or more workers will also apply to local government and school employees.

That means Henderson County Public Schools employees will fall under the mandate. 

Buncombe County government, with approximately 1,300 workers, began mandating testing Aug. 9. Asheville's 1,200 municipal employees faced the same requirement starting Sept. 22.

As of Sept. 3, a month after the mandate for Buncombe workers, 77% of employees had gotten vaccinated.

When the new mandate starts will depend on an emergency rule yet to be published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller is already moving in that direction for the Sheriff's Office's 373 deputies, jail officers and other employees, spokesman Aaron Sarver said Sept. 20.

"We are in the beginning phase of aligning with the county so that our staff either need to be vaccinated or tested weekly," he said.

In an additional move to encourage vaccination, those in custody of the Detention Facility are being offered $50 to get inoculated, Sarver said.

"This money is then placed on their commissary account. We had 40 detainees receive the Johnson & Johnson one shot last week."

The county's Board of Commissioners is set to vote Sept. 21 on further tightening COVID-19 rules that would affect regular county workers plus sheriff's employees. If approved, the vote would strip paid quarantine leave from unvaccinated workers.

On Sept. 7, Democratic District 3 Commissioner Parker Sloan of Candler proposed a vaccine mandate for school and Mission Hospital workers — though the idea has not advanced toward a vote. 

Spokespeople from the two school systems said Sept. 20 they were waiting on word from federal and state officials about the mandate.

"BCS has not received any guidance from N.C. (Department of Health and Human Services) or N.C. (Department of Public Instruction) regarding this matter, Buncombe schools spokesperson Stacia Harris said.

Ashley-Michelle Thublin with Asheville City Schools said while the system does not require testing, it has been encouraging vaccination and sharing appointment information with workers.

"We know vaccination is the leading public health prevention station to end the COVID-19 pandemic," she said.

Vaccines and masks have become a particularly political topic for schools, with a crowd threatening to overthrow the Buncombe School Board and Western North Carolina's member of Congress, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, traveling to school board meetings in and outside his district to criticize mask mandates. 

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.