As the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreads, threatening to ground the health system across the country, some states are giving up to $2,000 incentives to workers.
The City of Phoenix, for instance, has authorized incentives of up to $2,000 for qualified employees.
Qualified full-time employees will receive $500 for getting vaccinated and full vaccination by January 18, 2022, which will result in payment worth over $1,500. Part-time workers will get up to $1,000, according to the city’s record.
The state of Maryland is also offering a one-time cash incentive of $100 to state workers who decide to get vaccinated.
Private organizations are also doing their bits to motivate people to get the vaccines. Early this year, Krispy Kreme started giving out free donuts to anyone who got vaccinated.
Other companies are offering cash, companies have been offering lottery tickets, fishing and hunting licenses, food and drinks, and other discounts to get people to be vaccinated.
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New federal laws on the COVID vaccine are expected to be in place by the new year. The Biden Administration is requiring employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tests for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis.
Weekly COVID tests could become too expensive for companies to sustain.
The new policies will also require that employees get paid time off to get vaccinated.
If an employee decides to not get vaccinated, it is the employer’s responsibility to make sure all unvaccinated workers are wearing a face mask in the workplace.
States offering some incentives to workers to be vaccinated include:
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Vermont
- Washington
- West Virginia
