A dozen state employees have been dismissed for failing to comply with Gov. Ned Lamont”™s order requiring them to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or begin undergoing weekly testing.
All 12 of the employees were still in their six-month probationary period, which allowed for their immediate dismissal. Employees who have successfully completed their probation but refuse to comply with the governor”™s order will be placed on 45 days of unpaid leave before being let go.
“We reached out to them more than once, said, ‘You get vaccinated or you get tested. If you say no, you can”™t work here. It”™s unsafe,'” Lamont told reporters at a press event.
The state will use federal funds to pay for the weekly tests, according to the Lamont administration.
As of Oct. 7, according to the latest data from the administration, 671 of the approximately 32,000 employees (97.8%) subject to the vaccination order had been vaccinated or tested.
