Metro will require employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be tested weekly after its workforce fell short of a vaccination goal set by the transit agency’s leadership.

       General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said 45 percent of 12,000 employees are fully vaccinated, according to an internal memo he sent to employees Tuesday.

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       “However, we need to do better to protect our workforce and our customers from Covid infection, especially given the prevalence of the Delta variant in our region,” Wiedefeld wrote.

       Early this month, Wiedefeld told employees in another memo that Metro might have to begin regular screenings of unvaccinated employees to prevent the spread of the virus if the workforce didn’t reach a 70 percent benchmark. At the time, only 40 percent of employees had reported being vaccinated.

       40% of Metro employees report being vaccinated. Mandatory tests are possible unless that number rises.

       Metro will start requiring weekly negative test results from unvaccinated employees beginning Sept. 7, Wiedefeld said. Without it — or proof of vaccination — employees cannot work for the transit agency.

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       He said Metro employees will need to upload their proof of vaccination, a negative coronavirus test result no more than a week old or a request for a medical or religious exemption to an internal database. Wiedefeld said the policy also applies to nonunion workers and contractors.

       New hires will be required to show proof of vaccination to start work, Wiedefeld added.

       Under the policy, unvaccinated employees will be responsible for getting their own weekly negative coronavirus test results. Expenses for the testing will not be reimbursed, he said.

       “The expense and scheduling of this test is your responsibility,” he said. “Also, please understand that failure to comply will result in immediate ineligibility to work and progressive discipline.”

       Wiedefeld said the mandatory testing requirement is similar to policies for District employees, and Maryland and Virginia state government workers.

       It “will help strengthen our collective defensives against the virus and its variants,” Wiedefeld said. “This is a deadly disease and we have to work together to fight it for everyone’s sake.”