An East Village condo building is demanding its employees get jabs to keep their jobs.
The board of the Christodora House, an 83-unit condominium near Tompkins Square Park, has notified staffers that they have until June 15 to receive at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, or they will be looking for work, the New York Post reported.
According to new guidance by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employers are allowed to require workers to get a Covid-19 vaccine.
The building’s condo board said in its letter to employees that vaccination is necessary “to provide the safest possible environment” for the workers and residents. At this point, the nine-member building staff has been vaccinated except for a doorman and a porter.
The board’s demand isn’t sitting well with the two holdouts.
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“I feel like my human rights are being violated,” one of the unvaccinated staffers, Jesus, told the outlet. He asked his name not be used for fear of jeopardizing his future employment.
The 30-year-old doorman said he was not comfortable with getting shots because vaccines were developed “fairly fast,” and because of the incentives being given to encourage people to get vaccinated.
The vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective. But behavioral scientists have said small incentives could indeed discourage some people from getting vaccinated.
At least one resident sided with the holdouts, saying that staff has maintained safety by masking and social distancing.
“They can continue doing that until they’re ready to get vaxxed,” the person told the outlet. “They’re good guys. It’s really heartbreaking and saddening to see [the board] try to do this.”
[NYP] — Akiko Matsuda