HARRISBURG, Pa. — State employees are cheering after the Wolf administration announced its offering five days of paid leave to state employees.
"I think it's a great thing for workers, instead of punitive measures being taken against them," said Steve Catanese, the President of SEIU labor Union.
In an effort to boost vaccination rates, Governor Wolf rolled out the plan that will impact more than 70,000 employees.
They can either use the leave between December 20th and March 31st or paid or get paid for the time.
Union representatives say it's well deserved.
"For the last 18 months, these have been the workers that have been tying us together. These have been the workers that were required to work when you weren't being encouraged to wear a mask," said Catanese.
Currently, employees are given one paid day to get vaccinated.
State Treasurer Stacey Garrity said her department will not take part in the Wolf's administration plan, calling it "fiscally irresponsible" because it will cost taxpayers at least one million dollars.
“At a time when so many small businesses have been forced to close permanently or continue to struggle as a result of the pandemic, there are far better uses for these funds,” Garrity said in a statement.
" If we want to talk about discretionary spending, I would strongly encourage the general assembly to use discretion in getting that money out there...Incentivize small businesses to do this. They have the money and the power to do this right now," said Catanese.
The attorney general's office said they're also not expanding incentives while the auditor general's office says its opting for the one day of vaccination leave instead.
State employees that are already fully vaccinated will automatically receive five additional days off.