City workers in Montclair, California, are now required to wear a sticker proving their vaccination status if they do not wear a mask, although officials contend it is not a mandate.
City workers who do not wear a mask will be required to present their Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination card, and in turn, they will receive a sticker identifying them as vaccinated
Jon Hamilton, Montclair Director of Administrative Services and Human Resources, contends it is not a mandate:
The program is 100 percent voluntary, so if anybody has concerns about their own medical confidentiality and they do not wish to participate, there’s no mandate … they continue to wear their mask and operate under all safety protocols required right now during COVID-19.
City Manager Edward Starr has defended the practice as being consistent with California Division of Occupational Safety and Health guidance. He also pointed to the CDC, which recommends employers provide stickers to employees, identifying them as vaccinated. Indeed, the CDC features printable stickers on its website, reading, “I got my COVID-19 vaccine!”
However, Councilman Ben Lopez said he has seen a wave of nasty backlash following the announcement of the program.
“Since this story has aired four or five days ago, I have been getting a series of hate messages, saying, ‘I hope you die of COVID,” Lopez claimed, adding he personally has “no problem with our city HR department asking our employees to provide information if they are vaccinated.
“Beyond that, I don’t think we have the authority,” he added, telling colleagues last week that he is “opposed” to a “public declaration of that status on any item of clothing, ID, whatever it is.”
“Just because numbers are going up doesn’t mean that people’s individual rights to privacy, especially with their medical information, is not null and void. We don’t need a sticker. The default is the mask,” he said.
“If you’re wearing the mask, clearly you’re not vaccinated or you choose not to reveal it, or if you’re not wearing the mask, you’re vaccinated,” he added.
The news comes as the vaccine mandate narrative continues to build across the nation. On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it is requiring tens of thousands of its frontline healthcare workers to get vaccinated. If they do not, they risk losing their jobs.
Meanwhile, in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) made his intentions on vaccines crystal clear during Monday’s press conference.
“And we have to get in those communities, and we have to knock on those doors, and we have to convince people, and put them in a car and drive them and get that vaccine in their arm. That is the mission,” the Democrat governor said: