HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10663 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 21-10663
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council September 21, 2021
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SUBJECT: COVID-19 VACCINATION REWARD PROGRAM
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Since the onset of the pandemic, the City of Fort Worth has attempted to provide support and care to our
employees in every feasible way. The City and Fire Health Plans have paid out millions of dollars in claims
for testing, active cases, and vaccinations for the members. City employees have had the ability to get
vaccinated, via the partnership between Tarrant County and the City of Fort Worth, since early in 2021 and
their family members soon after. City Management has made it as easy as possible for employees to get
vaccinated by providing them two (2) hours of paid time per shot in order for them to get vaccinated during
their normal work schedules. In addition, the City's Wellness program has rewarded points for fully
vaccinated employees to use towards the Health Challenge payout program, which is an opportunity for
each employee to earn up to $250 per year through wellness activities. Now that the Pfizer vaccine has
received full approval, and given that not all employees have been vaccinated yet, this informal report will
outline an additional reward/incentive program for employees who are or become fully vaccinated within
the remainder of this year.
For the calendar year, 2022, the City of Fort Worth will provide additional paid leave in the form of three
(3) additional Personal Holidays, for a total of five (5), to regular full-time employees who were fully
vaccinated by September 111, 2021, and provide a copy of their vaccination cards to Human Resources via
electronic upload by December 111, 2021. Employees who become fully vaccinated by November 111, and
do the same upload to Human Resources, will receive one (1) additional Personal Holiday for 2022, for a
total of three. In addition, those same employees will receive forty (40) hours of Sick Leave in order to
provide additional support for the employee, and their family, should they get sick even after being
vaccinated. Personal holidays do not roll over from year to year and are not paid out upon termination, so
they will be used within 2022. This will have minimal impact to the City's budget and provide a strong
reward and incentive for all employees at the City of Fort Worth who have or will be vaccinated.
Other options were reviewed and considered, but were found to be too administratively difficult to
implement. For example, two options that were looked at were for members on the City's health plan to
receive a premium discount for being vaccinated or, if unvaccinated, receive a premium increase/penalty.
Unfortunately, both of these options would not affect all employees at the City, because some are not on
the City's plan and the firefighters are on a separate health plan. Additionally, in a review of the
marketplace, it is well documented that employees are leaving employers who mandate the vaccine, are
considering legal action, and mandates of this nature have an overall effect on employee morale. A
reward/incentive approach, affecting all employees, is considered the best practice at this time.
It is believed that the implementation of the incentive part of this strategy will allow the City to increase
the number of vaccinated City employees and will support the efforts underway both locally and nationally
to slow the spread of the virus through higher vaccination rates. We will continue to update you on the
progress of this reward/incentive program for the employees at the City of Fort Worth.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 21-10663
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council September 21, 2021
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SUBJECT: COVID-19 VACCINATION REWARD PROGRAM
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For any questions, please contact Dianna Giordano, Human Resources Director, at 817-392-7783.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS