Town considers vaccine mandate for employees

Following the death of a city employee, Coulee Dam is considering requiring all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Councilmember Dale Rey raised the question during a council meeting last Wednesday.

Rey remarked on the recent death of one employee and a positive coronavirus test of another, although he said he was speculating on the cause of death.

“Our town employees not only interact with each other and with us, but they also interact with and communicate with and are around members of the community,” Rey said, so requiring vaccination protects both employees and residents. “Not only is it an individual health issue, it’s a public health issue.”

Two other council members and the mayor all indicated they felt similarly.

One council member cautioned against possibly decimating the small city’s workforce.

“Some of your employees may have some heartache with it,” said Councilmember Kevin Black. “If you’re going to lose half your staff because people don’t want to do it,” Black said after noting he has been vaccinated, “… you’ve just got to be careful.”

All wanted to get more legal advice.

City Clerk Stefanie Bowden estimated that 50-60 percent of the city’s workforce is vaccinated.

Mayor Bob Poch said the city was already working on the legal questions. Bowden said she’s been in touch with the Municipal Research Services Corp., an organization that helps municipalities of all sizes research legal and other matters, and with City Attorney Mick Howe.

If answers are forthcoming, the council may address the issue in a special meeting before its next regular meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.

Rey said he thinks it could be a purely administrative call, but Bowden said an “adopted policy” that includes possible exemptions would be needed.

Councilmember Keith St. Jeor, a Bureau of Reclamation employee who said he’s dealing with the same questions at work, said that from what he’s read it’s legal for an employer to require vaccination.

“You’re not asking them about their medical conditions, you’re just requiring them to get a vaccine,” he said, “just like the school district could require kids to get vaccinated before they attend school. …

“I think it would be in our best interest as a council to require it to save the people that are following the mandates and want to keep their jobs and keep their families healthy,” St. Jeor said.

Rey said courts have found multiple times that governments can establish safety and health procedures for their employees, and major corporations are now requiring their workers to be vaccinated against the virus or face unemployment.

Rey acknowledged it’s a tough question and said the employee who died was his friend. “My heart broke when I got the news.”

“He did a wonderful job for the town, and he will be missed for a long time,” St. Jeor said. And my heart goes out to his family.”

The discussion came just days before the state governor’s mandate took effect for state employees, most medical workers and teachers.

As of Monday, Gov. Jay Inslee’s mandate took effect.

In the Grand Coulee Dam School District, one employee left rather than get the vaccine. Superintendent Paul Turner said 89% of the district’s employees have been vaccinated, but 16 have been exempted under the state’s rules that allow for medical or religious accommodations.

Turner said that was a good record, compared with all other districts in Okanogan County, some of which are only 70% vaccinated.

Coulee Medical Center ended up parting ways with one employee over the mandate. A few others have been accommodated for either medical or religious reasons.