CORRECTION - Guidance Regarding the County's COVID-19 Vaccination Directive

County of Los Angeles - Internal sent this bulletin at 08/30/2021 04:33 PM PDT

Department of Health Services employees:

Please note the vaccination verification email sent today to all County employees does not reflect the process for DHS.

As a reminder, the process for the DHS workforce: If you were vaccinated by DHS, your vaccination verification is complete. If you received your vaccination outside of DHS, you must submit a copy of your vaccination record to your local Employee Health Services.

DHS employees do not need to submit their vaccination records into the Fulgent database.

Thank you.

 

Lisa Garrett

Sent on behalf of Lisa M. Garrett, Director of Personnel

To:           All County Employees

From:       Lisa M. Garrett
                Director of Personnel

GUIDANCE REGARDING THE COUNTY'S COVID-19 VACCINATION DIRECTIVE

As mentioned in the August 16, 2021 and August 27, 2021 communications to all employees from our Chief Executive Officer, Fesia Davenport, the Los Angeles County (County) Board of Supervisors issued a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination directive. All County employees must show proof of full vaccination by October 1, 2021.


The County is currently meeting with labor unions in order to bargain over the effects of this mandate and receive input regarding the details of the underlying policy. Meanwhile, we take our duty to comply with the Board’s order and provide and maintain a safe workplace for our employees very seriously. In accordance with that duty, we are issuing the following COVID-19 vaccination guidance to safeguard the health and safety of our employees and their families, our customers and visitors, and the community at large.

 

The County is expanding its contract with Fulgent, a leader in laboratory testing services and an existing vendor with the County, to maintain employee vaccination records and conduct required regular COVID-19 testing for applicable employees, contractors, and volunteers. 

Today, if you are vaccinated, you may begin the process by uploading your vaccination certification documentation to the Fulgent database by following the steps below:

  • Go to lac.fulgentgenetics.com to complete your vaccination verification (Chrome, Safari or Edge browsers required). You will need:
    • Your employee or contractor number, and
    • A California Department of Public Health (CDPH) digital vaccine card QR code, (see “Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record” below for instructions), or
    • A digital photo of your hard copy vaccination card.

We also know that other circumstances exist around vaccination dependent upon your status. Please see the following guidance for steps you should take now to prepare for the monitoring deadline of October 1, 2021.

  • I am not vaccinated: It is imperative that you get fully vaccinated and show proof of full vaccination prior to October 1, 2021.
  • I cannot be vaccinated due to a medical or religious reason: If you cannot receive the vaccination due to a medical or a religious reason, you will be able to request a legal exemption. Additional details on how to submit your request will be provided in the coming days. In addition, you may be required to submit to COVID-19 testing. Employees subject to COVID-19 testing will be able to test on County time and, if a mileage permittee, may be reimbursed for mileage. Additional details on testing will be providing in the coming days.

Available Resources:

The Department of Human Resources (DHR) and our County partners have established the following resources to assist all of us to continue working safely and productively.

  • Employee Town Halls. DHR, the Department of Public Health (DPH), Chief Executive Office, and County Counsel are partnering on two (2) upcoming Employee Town Halls to provide you with information about the COVID-19 vaccine and the mandatory vaccination directive and policy.

    The first town hall will be on August 31, 2021, at 4:00 p.m., and will be focused on the COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy. The second town hall will be on September 20, 2021 and will be focused on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the County’s draft vaccine mandate policy, and compliance requirements. Both town halls will be recorded, and employees can participate or watch the town halls on County time. All employees are encouraged to attend. More information will be provided closer to the Town Hall date.

  • Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record. The California State Department of Public Health provides easy access to your vaccination record. Visit the CDPH portal to get started.
  • DPH COVID-19 Vaccine and Vaccination Records website. LA County COVID- 19Vaccine-LACountyDepartmentofPublicHealth provides reliable information on the pandemic, state and local health orders, and vaccinations.
  • LA County Employee Hotline and COVID-19 email. Both the LA County Employee hotline and COVID-19 email box are available to answer your employee questions. You can connect with us by calling (833) 990-2352, Monday-Friday from 7:00am-5:00pm or send your questions to COVID19@hr.lacounty.gov.

Should you have any questions regarding uploading your vaccination documentation or need technical support using the Fulgent system, please contact the Fulgent technical support team by email lacsupport@fulgentgenetics.com OR phone at (626) 350-0537. They are available 24/7.

If you have any questions regarding the mandatory vaccination directive or any other non-technical inquiries, please submit inquiries to your Departmental Human Resources Manager or COVID19@hr.lacounty.gov.

Lastly, as we have done throughout the pandemic, all employees must follow Department of Public Health guidance for masking, hygiene, and physical distancing at work. For the latest guidance, please go to the DPH site for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Again, our highest priority is to continue to protect the health and safety of our employees and the public we serve.