The Ingham County Board of Commissioners is set to vote Tuesday on qualified vaccine mandates for county employees and vendors.
One policy would require county workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face weekly testing on county time at the county's expense.
Another policy also up for a vote next week would apply to vendors that work with the county.
Workers at those businesses would need to be vaccinated against COVID at a rate equal to or greater than the county’s inoculation rate.
Commissioner Ryan Sebolt, D-Lansing, says that provision seemed more practical than requiring universal vaccination for vendors.
"I was trying to set like an achievable bar for the employers to have their employees vaccinated," Sebolt said.
Roughly 62% of Ingham County residents ages 12 and older are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to the state health department.
PresidentJoe Biden is pushing workplace safety rulesthat would require COVID-19 vaccines or testing for staff at all workplaces with more than 100 employees.
Ingham commissioners anticipate the county's rules for vendors would fill a gap by covering small businesses exempt from Biden's proposal.
And it's not clear how quickly Biden's orders could take effect.
"We're getting ahead of the game in terms of being proactive and getting this done sooner," Commissioner Emily Stivers, D-Meridian Township, said of the county's proposed policies.
About 1,200 people work for Ingham County.
Some county employees have voiced opposition to vaccine mandates during committee meetings, but Sebolt says the board's proposal is best for public health.
"This choice is not just about your body," he said. "It's about my body too. As well as all of our employees’ bodies. It’s about every resident of the county's body.”
County Controller Gregg Todd says commissioners can set vaccine and testing policies without union approval. But he says county officials are meeting with union leaders in coming weeks to reach an informal consensus.
Departments overseen by elected officials, like the sheriff and county prosecutor, are considered "co-employers" of the county, Todd said. Those leaders have a choice about whether to adopt the commission's policy for their workers, he said.
County Prosecutor Carol Siemon will have her office abide by vaccination and testing policies approved by the board of commissioners, a spokesman said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, a spokesman for Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth did not provide information about whether Wriggelsworth will adopt vaccine and testing policies for sheriff's deputies, jail staff and other department workers.
