2021/09/20 - Mayor's Column: New State and Federal Vaccine Orders
“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
As you may already know, on August 26, 2021, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2021-20 which states that all healthcare workers, school personnel, and state employees must be fully vaccinated from COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing to enter their workplace. This Executive Order applies to all the City’s Paramedics and EMT’s of our Emergency Medical Services Division.
Furthermore, on September 9, 2021, President Biden also announced that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) mandating all private employers with 100 or more employees to require their workforce to be either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or produce a negative test result weekly. Although an ETS has not yet been released, OSHA officials have indicated that the same requirements imposed on private employers with 100 or more employees will apply to state and local governments located in states that have an approved state OSHA plan, like Illinois. The final ETS, when issued, will clarify whether municipalities must comply with these requirements. In the interim, we have been advised to plan for implementation of any forthcoming requirements if an ETS is applicable to Illinois local governments.
These new orders would affect the City’s entire workforce, over 200 full-time employees, hundreds of part-time employees, and even the City Council and myself. We will all have to show proof of vaccination or weekly negative tests to show up and work at City facilities.
I understand that COVID-19 has been polarizing at times. But politics and personal feelings aside, the City of O’Fallon has a responsibility to protect our staff and citizens and to keep our workforce able to provide services.
After we sought out experienced legal advice on how to proceed, we concluded that we have no other choice but to comply with both, the State and Federal Orders, or potentially face heavy fines of up to $14,000 per incident. Of course, we will follow all legal challenges that pertain to these orders and make changes accordingly.
The bottom line is that we want our City Staff and those we serve to be safe. We also want to be good stewards of your taxpayer dollars.
As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open!