Thousands of LAPD Employees Plan to Seek Exemptions to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

(by Emily Alpert Reyes, Kevin Rector | LA Times) – Thousands of Los Angeles Police Department employees plan to seek exemptions to rules requiring city workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to figures released Tuesday by city officials.

More than 2,600 LAPD employees have indicated that they plan to pursue religious exemptions, while more than 360 plan to seek medical ones.

That could amount to roughly a quarter of the LAPD’s workforce planning to seek an exemption, based on data in a memo sent by Wendy Macy, who heads the personnel department. Among city employees as a whole, fewer than 11% have indicated that they will seek an exemption.

LAPD personnel are heavily represented among those who may seek religious exemptions; they make up less than 22% of city employees but account for more than 50% of those planning to seek an exemption on the basis of religion.

Under the ordinance passed last month by the City Council, city employees must get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 5 unless they are granted a religious or medical exemption; those who receive exemptions will be subject to regular testing for the coronavirus. The vaccination requirements become a condition of city employment on Oct. 20.

City officials pushed back a deadline last week for employees to seek an exemption to the vaccination requirement, instead giving workers until the end of Monday to indicate that they plan to pursue an exemption. Across all city departments, more than 6,200 employees did so. Read Full Article >