The union representing sheriff’s deputies in San Francisco said a number of them would immediate retire or seek employment elsewhere if the city enforces its vaccine mandate for employees who work in prisons, the Associated Press reports.
Last month, the city government mandated that all employees who work in the city’s jail and other high-risk settings must be fully vaccinated by September 15th. Approximately 160 of the sheriff’s office 600 employees are unvaccinated, with about 16% of the deputies being unvaccinated.
“There is also an undue and unacceptable health and safety risk that is imposed upon the city, our employees and the public we serve, by those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19,” the city’s Department of Human Resources said in a statement. “Vaccines are safe, effective and readily available to our employees.”
The Sheriff’s Department oversees eight jails in San Francisco County, housing about 2,000 prisoners or detainees at any given time.