New rules on vaccinated employees draw ire

OLYMPIA — Employers across Washington are going to have to start tracking which employees have received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to new rules published by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.

The rules are part of a change, announced late last week, that are intended to allow vaccinated employees work without having to wear masks or maintain social distance.

According to the new rules, which went into effect on Friday, employers can verify a worker’s vaccination status either by checking a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination card or a photo of the card, a letter from a health care provider or a signed attestation from the employee they have been vaccinated.

To show Labor & Industries they have verified which employees are vaccinated, the department’s guidelines suggest employers can create a log of vaccinated workers or mark ID badges with vaccination status.

“They need to be able to show us they have a system to verify,” said Matt Ross, a Labor & Industries spokesperson.

If vaccination status cannot be determined, employees are still required to wear a mask and maintain social distance at work, according to Labor & Industries guidance on the new rules.

However, Republicans in the state legislature, as well as organizations representing businesses and employers, have expressed concern over the rules, saying they violate medical privacy laws and create separate rules for vaccinated and unvaccinated workers, as well as for employees and customers.

House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, has called upon Labor & Industries to rescind the new rules, stating forcing employees to disclose their medical history to their employers is “fundamentally wrong,” according to a press release.

Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, said he was in full agreement with Wilcox’s demand.

“It’s not my right as an employer to know your medical history,” Dent said.

Dent, who had COVID-19 in 2020 and said he has been vaccinated, also employs one person on his ranch.

The Association of Washington Business (AWB) said the new rules create two standards — one for customers, who under new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can choose to wear masks, regardless of whether they are vaccinated, and another for employees, who must wear masks if they are not vaccinated.

“We appreciate that state officials recognized how onerous it would be to require vaccine checks for customers, but we think they should have applied the same standard for employees,” said AWB President Kris Johnson in a statement.

“Employers do not want to be placed in the position of being vaccine police for either their employees or customers,” Johnson added.

Dent said he believed it is necessary to trust people to do the right thing, noting a lot of people — for whatever reason — do not wish to be vaccinated.

“I’m vaccinated, but I don’t want to force you,” he said.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.