City of Pittsburgh begins disciplining unvaccinated employees

The city of Pittsburgh announced Thursday that it has begun disciplining employees who have yet to be vaccinated against covid-19.

Mayor Bill Peduto in November issued an executive order requiring all city employees — except those with an accepted medical or religious exception — to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 22.

The city said more than 85% of city employees are either fully vaccinated or have a pending or approved exception or extension. As of Thursday, there were 278 city employees who were not yet vaccinated, the city said.

The city has begun disciplining those workers through a progressive discipline policy that can lead to unpaid administrative leave or termination, according to the city.

This comes after officials on Tuesday had said discipline would be paused as the city negotiated with unions representing police and firefighters. Discipline will not yet begin for firefighters or police officers, as negotiations with their unions are ongoing, a public safety spokeswoman said.

If an employee gets their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine, further discipline will be paused to give that individual “a reasonable amount of time to become fully vaccinated,” city officials said.

Officials said the process would not result in any disruptions to city services and is intended to ensure more employees are vaccinated.