House Republican leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, is speaking out against a Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) policy requiring employers to confirm and record the vaccination status of employees in order to not require masks or social distancing in the workplace.
L&I on May 21 released workplace safety and health guidance related to social distancing an masking.
According to Wilcox, the guidance dictates that “before ending mask and social distance requirements, employers must confirm workers are fully vaccinated by having the worker either sign a document attesting to their status or provide proof of vaccination.”
He said employers are being asked to demonstrate they have verified vaccination status for workers who are not masked or physically distanced by creating a log of workers who have verified their vaccination or confirming their status through other means.
"Our state should not require employers to ask their employees if they are fully vaccinated for any reason,” Wilcox said in a prepared statement. “Forcing employers to ask and record this personal medical decision violates employee privacy and is fundamentally wrong. People never envisioned having to do this and the question is, what's next? Governor Inslee's Department of Labor and Industries needs to rescind this new, unworkable policy immediately.”
Wilcox said the executive branch is making unilateral decisions and advancing poorly constructed COVID-related policies.
“The inaction of legislative Democrats means that the governor has seen no check to his authority and this has naturally led to overreach,” Wilcox said. “In one week, the governor has burned bridges with legislators in both chambers, tribes, employers and employees. We need legislative Democrats to understand these problems, and their real-world ramifications, and work with us on solutions to address them."
