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.
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.
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.
Holeman says county staff are reviewing to see what next steps they might have to take to ensure they are in compliance.
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.
