Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee says a bonus of up to three thousand dollars for state employees, if they got vaccinated, was a bad idea but it will stay in the just negotiated contract with the union.
The Governor says the bonus language is being re-worked but did not indicate what the new language was going to be.
The administration had completed negotiations with the state employee unions and the bonus was part of that package. The Governor, who had been criticized for the payments to begin with, called it a "misstep" at his weekly news conference.
The Governor on other issues says with the state now eclipsing 200 thousand Covid cases, he says that all options are on the table but continues to believe that Rhode Islanders will do what is right for them and get vaccinated or boosted. The Governor says he is not inclined at this point to reinstate mask mandates.
The Governor said he continues to listen to the advice of his Health Department but right now changes in masking are not in the cards.
(Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)