As the state and federal COVID-19 public health emergencies come to a close next Thursday, Boston will be lifting vaccine and regular testing requirements for its employees.
After consulting with the Boston Public Health Commission, the city issued a memo to department heads and HR managers that all policies requiring vaccinations and/or regular testing will be lifted on May 11 for city workers.
In December of 2021, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu implemented the Vaccine Verification Policy, which resulted in over 95% of city employees submitting proof of vaccination by late January 2022, the memo from Chief People Officer Alex Lawrence said.
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The city has started the process of noticing union partners of the policy changes, and plans to reach back out to employees with additional specifics at a later time. That could include information about measures such as leave options for employees to seek testing and vaccination, onsite testing and vaccination and other COVID policies.
The memo said that "if there is a time in the future when it becomes necessary to implement additional policies to protect our workforce, we are ready to act accordingly."