Anne Arundel County will provide employees with a one-time $1,000 payment if they get vaccinated for COVID-19 by November 30, 2021.
“Through working closely with our agency and union leadership, we developed an incentive we believe will help get more of our staff vaccinated,” County Executive Steuart Pittman said. “With cold and flu season rapidly approaching, we must do everything in our power to boost vaccination rates, and we believe that this program will do just that among our public servants.”
County employees who receive the vaccine by Nov. 30, 2021, will be eligible to receive a one-time $1,000 payment. This includes employees who have already been vaccinated, as well as employees who get vaccinated by Nov. 30. Temporary or contractual employees who worked more than 1,000 hours in FY 2020, and are still on payroll the week of Sept.13, will also be eligible for the vaccination incentive payment. The County will use federal ARPA funds to pay for the incentive.
Beginning the week of Sept.13, county employees will be able to enter their vaccination verification into a secure web portal. County employees who upload verification of vaccination by Sept. 20 will receive a $1,000 off cycle payroll check or direct deposit on Oct. 15. For employees of quasi-governmental agencies not on county payroll, the date of payment will be determined by the respective agency head. Additional information about the secure portal and required documentation will be provided over the next two weeks.
The County’s rollout of the incentive program will delay implementation of the testing program until the conclusion of the incentive program. The incentive program will help the County determine where vaccination rates are lagging among staff, and adjust messaging and outreach through departments based on the data.
“Our hope is that the increase in vaccinated employees will ultimately reduce the excessive costs, as well as the staffing and scheduling burdens associated with implementing a testing regimen for unvaccinated employees,” Chief Administrative Officer Matt Power said. “With a finite amount of resources and a clear public health goal – to get all eligible staff vaccinated as soon as possible – we’re focusing our efforts on increasing vaccinations and protecting our workforce.”
Employees who have not yet been vaccinated will have until November 30, 2021 to get vaccinated and upload their verification to the portal. Employees on county payroll that upload verification after September 20th but before November 30th will receive an off-cycle payroll payment of $1,000 prior to December 24th. The payment date for the second round of payments for quasi-governmental agencies will also be at the discretion of the respective agency head.
