Helping state workers fired because of Washington State’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. That’s the plan of 14th District State Rep. Chris Corry of Yakima.
FIRED STATE WORKERS WOULD GET PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT
Corry has proposed House Bill 1814 to provide a 10-percent hiring preference for workers who lost their jobs due to government-imposed vaccine mandates and entitles a former employee re-hired after losing a job either voluntarily or involuntarily to pension service credit for the time they were unemployed if they pay their normal employee contributions.
A press release says he’s coordinated his efforts with those of King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn who is pursuing similar policy at the local level.
EMPLOYEES FIRED IN KING COUNTY COULD ALSO BENEFIT
Dunn has introduced a motion that tasks King County with re-hiring employees, including deputies and other first responders, fired due to the previous requirement that all County employees be vaccinated from Covid-19.
“Now that vaccination requirements have been rolled back, this is our opportunity to bring back those public servants-especially our first responders, including law enforcement and emergency personnel-who lost their jobs,” says Dunn. “Especially as the County continues to struggle to hire enough deputies to fully staff our Sheriff’s Office, we should focus on bringing back and retaining the high-quality, experienced employees that we very much need to fully staff our work.”
CORRY SAYS THE DECISION ON A VACCINE SHOULD BE UP TO YOU
The release says to date, King County Metro has lost 110 employees to the requirement and is working to hire nearly 40 vehicle maintenance staff and 100 bus operators.
Corry says “the decision to get vaccinated or not get vaccinated has and always should be up to the people. While the governor has not yet lifted the vaccine mandate for state workers, the least the Legislature can do is make getting those jobs back easier for those who unnecessarily lost their jobs and their livelihoods.”
Answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions
Vaccinations for COVID-19 began being administered in the U.S. on Dec. 14, 2020. The quick rollout came a little more than a year after the virus was first identified in November 2019. The impressive speed with which vaccines were developed has also left a lot of people with a lot of questions. The questions range from the practical—how will I get vaccinated?—to the scientific—how do these vaccines even work?
Keep reading to discover answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions.
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