Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings announced Thursday that firefighters who do not comply with the county’s vaccine mandate for its employees will not face termination, but rather will only get hit with a written reprimand.
“This week, there were discussions with the International Association of Firefighters regarding the vaccine mandate. This is where we stand at this point. We are offering a cap on the disciplinary actions for those who choose not to comply with the mandate. I want to be clear here, it was never my intention to terminate anyone from our employment,” Demings said. “My desire and goal was to increase the rate of vaccinations amongst our employees and we have accomplished that.”