Barger Releases Statement on the County’s Enforcement of L.A. County Employees’ Vaccination Policy

Today, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger has released the following statement in response to the Board’s vote to have the county’s Department of Human Resources assume the authority to enforce County employees’ compliance with vaccination requirements.

“This action is in response to an individual – Sheriff Villanueva, to be specific. To change a policy over one individual isn’t appropriate. 

“Our county’s COVID-19 employee vaccine mandate is an important part of our commitment to keep the public safe from a deadly virus – but not at the expense of decreasing services we are obligated to provide.

Our Board should not seek an approach that erodes the management responsibilities of our county departments’ leaders nor results in the mass firing of essential workers.  We still have an invaluable opportunity to broker solutions by working with labor union leaders – we have not exhausted that course of action. 

Victims, their loved ones and the public at large want elected leaders to address the crime surges impacting our county. Now is the time to do all we can do and explore every possible option so that we can keep our residents safe.”