Gov. Jay Inslee’s updated August 18 proclamation mandating COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment for most state employees, public and private health care workers, and workers in “education settings” will impact certain city workers, especially those in emergency or medical services. Employees covered by the proclamation will need to be fully vaccinated by October 18.

As we noted recently, the vaccine mandate does include city EMTs, advanced EMTs, and paramedics. After some internal discussion at the Governor’s office last week, additional guidance was released showing that some other city employees are subject to the mandate as well. In addition to firefighters who are EMTs or paramedics, firefighters who perform medical functions (like first aid) as part of their official duties are also required to be vaccinated. Fire hall administrative staff are not required to be vaccinated under the Governor’s proclamation. Volunteer firefighters who are restricted to emergency calls and do not perform medical services as part of their official job description are not required to be vaccinated.

One question we have been asked in recent weeks is whether city police must be vaccinated under the Governor’s mandate. The guidance issued last week states that city police are not subject to the Governor’s vaccine mandate, since any medical functions they perform (like first aid) are incidental to their job as law enforcement officers. However, other law enforcement officers are subject to the mandate if they happen to be employees of a higher education institution (like college campus police) or the state (Washington State Patrol).

Municipal jail staff are required to be vaccinated if they are a licensed medical provider (doctor, nurse, paramedic, etc.) or work in the jail’s medical treatment facility. However, jail staff who do not work in the jail’s medical facility and whose job duties do not include providing health care are not required to be vaccinated under the Governor’s mandate.

According to MRSC, the proclamation’s vaccine requirement for workers in education settings could also be read to apply to certain city staff who work with children at on-site childcare facilities and youth parks and recreation programs. However, this application of the mandate is unclear at the moment; we are waiting for further guidance.

As cities begin to review mandated employees’ vaccination records, the state Department of Health has released this visual guide to help employers determine what constitutes valid proof of vaccination.

Vaccine exemption guidance

The Governor’s proclamation only allows exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for medical reasons or sincerely held religious beliefs. There has been some confusion surrounding the actual ways that employers will process exemptions and accommodation requests. As readers might suspect, accommodating medical exemptions is a relatively straightforward matter of confirming with an employee’s doctor that the employee does have a medical reason to not take the vaccine. The Governor’s office has circulated this example vaccine medical accommodation form that agencies and employers can use to verify an employee’s need for medical exemptions.

Sincerely held religious beliefs, however, are likely to be more difficult to determine. The Governor’s office has also released an example religious exemption request form as well as a religious exemption guide for HR professionals that a city HR department can use to confirm eligibility for a religious exemption.

As an additional resource, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has released guidance for school districts on how to review and accommodate religious vaccine exemption requests. This may be useful as your city considers how to address religious exemptions.

AWC city vaccine policy survey

With the state requiring vaccinations and the vaccines beginning to get full approval from the FDA, AWC has begun hearing questions about which cities are considering vaccine mandates. AWC wants to learn more about your city’s policies around vaccine mandates for your employees.

Please take our short survey here.

Indoor masks are back

As of August 23, universal masking is once again required in public indoor settings due to the increased COVID-19 caseload brought on by the delta variant. The Department of Health’s face mask order can be found here. All people over the age of 5 are required to wear masks in public indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status. Masks are not required in office spaces that are not easily accessible to the public where all people are vaccinated or when working alone indoors or in a vehicle with no face-to-face interaction. Masks are also not required for small, private gatherings where all attendees are vaccinated.

The Department of Health is also recommending (though not requiring) masks in crowded outdoor settings.