Fulltime Monroe County employees will receive a one-time $1,000 incentive if fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Part-time employees are eligible for $500.
The Monroe County Council unanimously approved the incentive Nov. 30. It applies to employees who receive two doses of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The county commissioners’ administrator Angela Purdie said the proposal is an effort to of incentivize vaccines ahead of the holidays. Additionally, it helps the county prepare for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) vaccination and testing deadline Jan. 4.
“People who have already gotten their vaccinations, they just need to provide their certificate and they would be eligible for the $1,000 or $500,” Purdie said.
Purdie said about 566 full time and 250 part-time employees are eligible. Payouts will come from the county’s health insurance reserve fund, which currently holds about $2,485,000.
She said it is unlikely that unvaccinated employees have enough time to receive the bonus before the holidays. As a result, county council approved the incentive as part of both the 2021 and 2022 budgets.
Extending the bonuses into 2022 also opens the incentive to elected officials, whose 2021 compensations cannot change within the year.
“Even though this is an incentive, it’s still considered a compensation,” Purdie said. “So elected [officials] will just have to wait until 2022 goes into effect.”
The City of Bloomington implemented a similar policy in March by offering fully vaccinated employees $100. So far, about 70 percent of all city employees are vaccinated.
READ MORE: Bloomington has paid out $65,000 to employees in COVID-19 vaccine incentives
In October, the city announced another vaccine incentive for all full-time employees on its healthcare plan. All employee health insurance policies will increase by $600 in 2022; however, vaccinated individuals are able to receive a rebate worth the same amount.
