Nearly all workers at Thurston courts provided vaccination proof by Nov. 15 deadline
Nearly all judicial officers and staff at Thurston County Superior and District courts provided proof of vaccination by a Monday, Nov. 15 deadline.
Each court set their own vaccine mandate independently of the county’s more lenient policy which allows for weekly testing as an alternative to vaccination. About 85% of Thurston County employees complied with a mandate requiring vaccination or testing as of Nov. 10.
The Superior Court Board of Judges approved a vaccine mandate for all its judicial officers and staff on Sept. 7. By Nov. 15, 96.5% of those who fell under the mandate showed proof of vaccination, according to court administrator Misty Robison.
The remaining 3.5% were accommodated or fired for failing to comply, she said. The mandate applied to all Superior Court and Juvenile Court staff and judicial officers, including nine judges, three commissioners and 112 staff.
District Court’s mandate applied to three judges, one court commissioner and 30 staff – all of which complied with the order, according to court executive officer Frankie Peters.
The court issued its mandate in an Aug. 27 order signed by presiding judge Brett Buckley. By its Nov. 15 deadline, 91% those the order applied to provided proof of vaccination and 9% have been accommodated, he said.
For both courts, employees could provide their COVID-19 vaccination card, records from a healthcare provider or a record from the state’s immunization information system.
The orders provide exemptions for those who need a disability-related reasonable accommodation or hold a sincerely held religious belief.
Such exemptions had to be requested by Oct. 4 to meet the Nov. 15 deadline, according to bargaining agreements with unions.
In the event the request was still processing by Nov. 15, the employee would be placed on paid administrative leave.
If a request was denied, the employee may use vacation or alternative leave for up to 45 days to get fully vaccinated. Beyond that, leave would be unpaid.
Those who were in the process of getting fully vaccinated by Nov. 15 could have requested up to 15 days of leave to meet requirements, per the agreement.
District Court signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Washington State Council of County and City Employees Local 618-District Court to clarify these details.
Likewise, Superior Court signed similar agreements with AFSCME/WSCCCE Local 618 — Court Security and Superior Court and OPEIU Local 8 — Juvenile Detention Officers.
These vaccine policies followed a comparable vaccine mandate set by the state Supreme Court. The court’s Aug. 18 order required proof of vaccination with some exceptions by a Nov. 1 deadline.
Gov. Jay Inslee issued a vaccine mandate as well on Aug. 9. That mandate required all state workers to either get vaccinated or apply for an accommodation by Oct. 18.
As of Nov. 8, the state reports 92% of its 62,145 workers provided proof of vaccination and 3% have received an accommodation. About 3% (1,857) employees left their jobs or were fired.
The remaining 2% (1,259) are pending action, meaning they may be in the process of getting vaccinated, retiring, receiving an accommodation or separating.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
