These State Workers Risk Getting Fired If They Refuse a Covid Vaccine

Thousands of Washington state employees will have to get vaccinated against the coronavirus before mid-October or risk getting fired from their jobs under an order Gov. Jay Inslee issued on Monday.

The mandate also applies to on-site state contractors, as well as workers in private health care settings and long-term care facilities, like nursing homes. Unlike similar requirements for public workers in other states, the new policy in Washington does not include an option where workers can eschew the vaccine and instead submit to regular testing for Covid-19. 

Inslee, a Democrat, emphasized that the new requirement comes as Washington is seeing a renewed surge in coronavirus cases in some parts of the state, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. The uptick in infections is putting pressure on the state's hospitals, he said.

"If you won't do your share and get vaccinated now, you won't be working for the state of Washington," the governor said during a press conference. "This will be a condition of further employment." He described the order as a legally binding, emergency proclamation. 

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Dow Constantine, who is the executive for King County, which encompasses the city, said that they would be adopting requirements for local public employees that mirror the policy the governor announced.

Inslee's press secretary, Mike Faulk, said by email that the new requirement would apply to about 60,000 state employees and roughly 400,000 private and nonprofit health care workers. Faulk said precise estimates on how many of those workers might be vaccinated are still being nailed down.

State figures show that, as of Aug. 2, just shy of 70% of Washington's population 12 and older, or about 4.5 million people, had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The seven-day rolling average for coronavirus cases in Washington state was 1,639 as of Aug. 1. That's compared to 350 on July 1. The state's health secretary, Umair Shah, said that the delta variant now accounts for at least 85% of cases and that unvaccinated people are key driver in the rising case count.

Employees subject to the new requirement must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18. A fact sheet the governor's office released says "employees who refuse will be subject to non-disciplinary dismissal from employment for failing to meet the qualifications of the job."

At least two labor unions that represent state employees in Washington said that the new requirements are subject to bargaining.

"The decision to mandate vaccines is a serious one and raises serious concerns," John Scearcy, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 117 said in a statement. He added that the union intends to "demand to bargain over this decision and its effects on our members.”

Local 117 says it represents nearly 10,000 public sector employees in Washington, including those within the state Department of Corrections.

The Washington Federation of State Employees—which says it represents nearly 47,000 state and other public service workers—said its members would "bargain the impacts of any vaccine mandate policies" in order to ensure workers are treated fairly."

Inslee's policy does not apply to workers at agencies that are controlled by other statewide elected officials. It also does not cover boards and commissions, K-12 schools or state universities.

Some exceptions will be allowed for medical or religious reasons. The governor's office said that state employees can work with their agency’s human resources office if they require these sorts of accommodations.

Other Vaccine Requirements

Inslee's move to adopt vaccine requirements for public employees follows similar actions in other states.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam last week announced a requirement for state workers to show proof they are fully vaccinated or otherwise be tested for Covid-19 weekly. Northam's office said the policy, which will go into effect on Sept. 1, would cover about 122,000 employees.

In late July, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city officials rolled out requirements like this for municipal employees. And, around the same time, California put in place a similar mandate for all state employees and workers in health care and high-risk congregate settings.

But, like Virginia, policies in both of those places allowed for testing in lieu of getting vaccinated.

Inslee's office acknowledged the “vaccination or test” approach, and said it examined this possibility, but deemed it "infeasible in state government and across our health systems."

Testing has failed to stop outbreaks in some cases, the governor's office said in the fact sheet, adding that: "The cost and administrative process to sustain, or expand, this model long-term is significant."

Republicans, who hold minorities in both chambers of the Washington Legislature criticized Inslee's new policy. 

“Vaccinations can save lives and we have strongly encouraged people to get them. We have been vaccinated ourselves," House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox and Senate Republican Leader John Braun said in a joint statement.  "But getting the vaccine is a personal health-care choice and should not be mandated by any level of government,"

"Threatening to terminate someone's job if they don't comply with this requirement is heavy-handed and wrong," they added.

The pair of GOP lawmakers also said they'd learned about the governor's announcement from news reports and characterized it as an example of why there needs to be reform around the governor's emergency powers that would give legislators greater sway.