Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian introduced a motion to the council Wednesday that would lift the city’s requirement that city employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The motion was introduced by Krekorian and fellow councilmember Traci Park, and was seconded by councilmembers Heather Hutt, Kevin De Leon, John Lee and Curren Price.
If passed, the motion would repeal an article in the Los Angeles Administrative Code which required COVID-19 vaccination for all current and future employees. The requirement was put into place in December 2021, about a year after the first COVID-19 vaccines went to market.
The mandate led to some protests and several dozen employees being docked pay over their refusal to get the vaccine.
Krekorian said the motion continues a process that is already underway as part of negotiations between the City and the unions that represent its employees.
“A well-considered plan for lifting the mandate will be thoroughly discussed in Council, as it should be,” Krekorian said.
Park said a plan was needed to develop a unified and uniform strategy that eliminates “public uncertainties,” bringing Los Angeles more in-line with policies seen at the federal and county level.
“With hospitalization rates remaining low and other COVID-era policies having sunset, we have entered a new phase of our pandemic recovery,” Park said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did not directly say if she was in support of removing the vaccine requirement, but said in a news release that she was in favor of examining “safest way to lift vaccine mandates for City employees.”
According to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, COVID-19 positivity rates countywide are around 6.73% with an average of 217 new cases per day between Oct. 8-14.
