New York City’s troubled jail system is facing more turmoil: the possible suspension of hundreds of corrections officers for failing to meet a Tuesday night deadline to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The city’s Department of Correction reported 77 percent of its uniformed staff had gotten at least one vaccine dose as of 5 pm Monday. That number is up by five percent from Monday of last week.
Corrections Department Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said Wednesday morning that about 700 jail workers who’ve applied for religious or medical exemptions can continue to work while their cases are reviewed.
City Hall officials said Wednesday afternoon that 570 workers could be put on leave without pay for failing to comply with the mandate, but they would not know the precise number until those corrections officers show up for scheduled shifts and do not show proof of vaccination.
The deadline for jail workers to be vaccinated was delayed a month because of existing staffing shortages.
![Today, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (pictured) said he 'expect[ed] the number' of vaccinated Department of Corrections officers 'to up in a very substantial way in the days ahead.' Currently, 77percent of them have gotten at least one jab, up from 72percent on Monday of last week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/01/21/51219365-10264543-image-a-34_1638394605455.jpg)
Today, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (pictured) said he 'expect[ed] the number' of vaccinated Department of Corrections officers 'to up in a very substantial way in the days ahead.' Currently, 77percent of them have gotten at least one jab, up from 72percent on Monday of last week
Pictured is an 'enhanced supervision' housing at Riker's Island. City Hall officials said Wednesday afternoon that 570 jailers could be put on leave without pay for failing to comply with the mandate
The promised suspensions threaten to add to the problems at the city’s jails, which includes the notorious Rikers Island complex. The jails, rotted by years of neglect, have spiraled out of control during the pandemic with staggering violence, self-harm and the deaths this year of at least 14 inmates — the most since 2013
Workers who haven’t applied for an exemption and who failed to show proof of vaccination by 5 pm Tuesday were to be placed on unpaid leave and surrender any city-issued firearms and protective gear, officials said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who already imposed similar mandates for other city workers, said he expects the vaccination rate to rise as workers begin missing paychecks or their requests for an exemption are denied.
'I expect those numbers to up in a very substantial way in the days ahead,' de Blasio told reporters at a virtual news conference Wednesday.
In anticipation of the impending mandate, de Blasio on Monday issued an emergency executive order designed to beef up jail staffing by authorizing a switch to 12-hour shifts from the normal 8-hour tours.
The president of the union for jail guards balked at that move saying it was 'reckless and misguided.' The union said it would sue to block the mandate — the same tactic a police union tried in late October as the vaccine requirement for its officers neared. The police union lost and the mandate went into effect as scheduled.
Workers who haven’t applied for an exemption and who failed to show proof of vaccination by 5 pm Tuesday were to be placed on unpaid leave and surrender any city-issued firearms and protective gear, officials said. Corrections officers are pictured at Rikers Island
Pictured are corrections officers working in a housing unit on Rikers Island. Mayor de Blasio authorized jail employees to work 12-hour shifts
