Over 1,400 New York City employees were fired on Friday over their refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
City officials said 1,430 city employees were fired after they were on unpaid leave for months, The Hill reports.
The city’s Education Department and Housing Authority were the agencies with the largest termination rate, with 914 and 101 terminations, respectively.
The city only had to fire two individuals who were hired after August 2nd.
City officials also said that during their unpaid leave, 939 workers decided to get vaccinated.
This is the first round of firings for those who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine, with around 3,000 employees placed on unpaid leave.
“We have to be very clear - people must be vaccinated if they are New York City employees,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “Everyone understood that.”
“We don’t want to terminate anyone. We want people to be vaccinated and employed so that our economy continues to open,” he continued.
