Riley County employees may potentially be required to comply with a vaccine mandate from two different government agencies.
County Counselor Clancy Holeman told commissioners Monday that preliminary information was released Thursday from the the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Clancy Holeman 1
These rules are for entities covered by either Medicare or Medicaid. The deadline for this mandate is December 5th. Full compliance would be required by January 5th.
Clancy Holeman 2
Holeman says it’s unclear whether Riley County falls under this federal requirement. Two departments of concern would be EMS and the health department, both of which receive Medicare and Medicaid funding.
Holeman says there could potentially be severe penalties for noncompliance.
Clancy Holeman 3
Holeman says county staff are reviewing to see what next steps they might have to take to ensure they are in compliance.
Clancy Holeman 4
Employers would also have to provide paid time off to allow employees to go get vaccinated and employees have to notify the employer if they receive a positive COVID test.
All of this information is preliminary.
