Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina signed an executive order on Wednesday that proed an extra paid vacation day for state employees receiving their first coronavirus booster shots.
According to the order, eligible employees working at state cabinet agencies that report to the governor and who receive their first booster shot on or before Aug. 31 may get up to eight hours of fully paid leave, including those who received the shot before Mr. Cooper’s announcement.
“Staying up-to-date on shots and getting boosters will help keep our state employees and communities safe,” Mr. Cooper said in a statement. A majority of North Carolina’s state employees are inoculated against the coronavirus, he said.
The leave will most likely be available to use by early June and expires March 31, 2023. The order applies only to those getting their first booster and to those who are permanent, probationary or time-limited employees. (Other state agencies may adopt the order, the governor’s office said.)
The move follows steps taken by officials and employers around the country to persuade more Americans to keep up with the vaccines since they first became widely available last spring.
According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, about 77 percent of workers say their employers have not required vaccination, with 47 percent saying their employers have encouraged it.
Last year, President Biden called on every employer in America to follow the federal government’s lead and give employees paid time off to be vaccinated, a message he extended to booster shots this past December, when he announced a set of measures intended to help combat the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus. At the time, about one-third of workers reported not receiving paid time off for vaccinations.
In New York, employees are entitled to at least four hours of paid leave per injection, including boosters. Most California workers receive up to three workdays to attend each vaccination appointment and to recover, with some exceptions, under the state’s Co sick leave policy.
Last July, Mr. Cooper instated a vaccine verification mandate for state workers in North Carolina, helping to spur an increase in inoculation: The governor’s office estimates that about 80 percent of state employees are now vaccinated, up from 65 percent in September.
Mr. Cooper also announced the suspension of a weekly testing scheme for unvaccinated employees, except for those working in health care or correctional facilities, citing high vaccination rates among workers and low infection rates.
Vaccine mandates have led to controversy around the country. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court struck down a federal mandate requiring a vaccine-or-testing scheme for large employers, which would have covered paid time off for vaccine appointments and recovery.
