Program to Provide One-time $1,000 Payment to Vaccinated Employees

BALTIMORE, MD. (Tuesday, December 7, 2021) – Today, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott and City Administrator Christopher Shorter announced that the City has authorized a one-time payment of $1,000 to fully vaccinated municipal employees. Funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will be used to pay for the incentive program. 

All fully vaccinated City of Baltimore employees are eligible to receive the $1,000 payment. The incentive pay will be given to employees who have been vaccinated, as well as employees who become fully vaccinated by January 14, 2022. 

This announcement comes following the administration’s decision in October to mandate the vaccine for City employees. Per the protocol, all employees are required to report and/or upload proof of vaccination to the City no later than January 14, 2022.  Those who are fully vaccinated pursuant to the protocol will receive the incentive payment. Those who are not fully vaccinated must submit to weekly testing. 

“This incentive is about doing everything in our power to protect our employees and our residents. We are still in a pandemic. People are still losing their lives and getting seriously ill because they are not vaccinated,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “I want to thank all of our employees who have already uploaded their vaccination status, and to all of our workers who haven’t received their vaccine yet, now is the best time to do so.” 

“It is our hope that together the vaccine mandate and incentive program will push more of our City employees to get vaccinated and upload their status,” said City Administrator Christopher Shorter. “We remain focused on prioritizing the safety of our workforce and the communities they serve so that we can continue to provide efficient and effective services throughout this pandemic.”

To encourage a safe working environment, many states and local municipalities have COVID-19 vaccine incentive programs to increase vaccination coverage. On July 29, 2021, the White House put forth the directive to state, local and territorial governments to incentivize vaccination, including offering $500.00 - $1,000.00 to anyone who gets vaccinated.

The City of Baltimore will continue to organize pop-up testing clinics for unvaccinated employees, which are free of charge and located near worksites across the city. 

To date, 66.6% of vaccine-eligible Baltimore City residents aged 18 years and up are fully vaccinated. Baltimore City’s Department of Human Resources (DHR) reports that  9,238 employees are fully vaccinated and 3,303 employees have yet to report their vaccination status. The vaccination data received thus far shows a 73.7% vaccination rate.

Employees who do not upload their vaccination status and do not comply with the City’s weekly testing option will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.