Charlie Baker orders over 40,000 state workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine — or potentially get fired

Get the COVID-19 vaccine or potentially lose your job.

That’s the choice Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is giving to tens of thousands of state government workers.

The Republican governor announced Thursday that he is ordering all of the state’s Executive Branch employees to provide proof that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 17 or face “disciplinary action, up to and including termination.”

According to Baker’s office, the new mandate covers roughly 42,000 employees, from the governor’s office to departments of public safety, education, transportation, and others.

Baker’s office also said Thursday that Executive Branch employees will also be required to get COVID-19 vaccine boosters by a future deadline to be determined, as federal officials develop guidance for the additional shots.

The policy also applies to both employees working in-person and those who are teleworking, amid plans to shift nearly half the state’s workers toward more remote work.

The order does include exemptions for workers who cannot get vaccinated due to a medical condition or have a sincerely held religious belief against the vaccine.

Baker’s administration say it will provide further guidance “in the coming weeks” for employees who may wish to seek such an exemption.

Otherwise, all Executive Branch workers will need to show proof that they have received either the required two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or one shot of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine by the Oct. 17 deadline.

Officials say employees will receive more information about the verification process in the coming week and that documents related to vaccinations will be maintained confidentially.

Baker hinted that such a policy was coming during a radio appearance Wednesday, although he suggested it might take the form of a less stringent policy requiring employees to face regular COVID-19 testing if they refused to get vaccinated — mirroring mandates implemented by a number of other state and local governments, including the City of Boston.

However, the new order announced Thursday makes no mention of a testing alternative.

Baker’s office said it plans to discuss specific ramifications for workers who don’t comply with the mandate with their unions “well in advance” of Oct. 17. Management employees who refuse to get vaccinated will also be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination, officials noted.

In the press release announcing the move, Baker’s office stressed that the COVID-19 vaccines are “the best and most effective way people can protect themselves, their loved ones and their community from the virus.”

SEIU Local 509, a public sector union that represents over 8,000 state employees, praised the new mandate Thursday as “a critical step towards halting the COVID-19 virus,” but added that it would “bargain with the Commonwealth to make sure our members’ rights are protected.”

“We will fight to ensure our members are provided access to the vaccine itself, and protections and exemptions for individual medical conditions or sincerely held religious beliefs,” the union’s leaders said in a statement, urging Baker and state lawmakers to pass legislation to “guarantee sick leave to receive and recover from the vaccine or COVID exposure.”

“We need this guarantee in place for every worker in our Commonwealth, not just state employees,” said SEIU Local 509 President Peter MacKinnon and Treasurer Israel Pierre.

“We are grateful to our members who have already been vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves, their families, their coworkers, and their clients,” they said. “We commend the Baker-Polito administration for taking this critical step towards protecting the most vulnerable members of our Commonwealth.”