King County reports 97% compliance with worker vaccine mandate
Oct 20, 2021, 11:47 AM
(King County Metro, Facebook)
(King County Metro, Facebook)
King County reported Tuesday that 97% of its employees have submitted paperwork in compliance with , while 92% are fully vaccinated.
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In total, over 13,000 King County workers are vaccinated. Another 639 requested religious or medical exemptions, “and are in the process to determine whether accommodations can be provided.” The county will be terminating 450 employees who did not comply with the mandate.
While a full breakdown of each department is still being compiled, the county did share that out of 623 King County Sheriff’s Office sworn officers, 71 are awaiting word on whether accommodations can be made for exemptions, while 12 will be terminated for not complying.
King County Metro reported 96 employees who did not comply with the mandate out of over 2,600 total employees, as well as 119 with exemptions awaiting accommodations.
The county says that it’s possible employees who did not comply could still confirm their vaccination status as part of the separation process in the days ahead.
“That compliance would allow the employee to continue serving the people of King County,” a spokesperson described in a news release.
Executive Dow Constantine also sent out a message to county employees Tuesday, expressing how he is “grateful that, once again, you have shown your commitment to this region through your actions.”
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“By having as many people as possible fully vaccinated in our workforce, we can ensure we continue to be there for our community,” he added.
Constantine further clarified that the county is “working through complex issues related to employee requests for accommodation and the processes associated with employees who chose not to vaccinate.”
Similar vaccination rates were reported among state employees. The Washington State Department of Transportation reported the largest segment of mandate-related terminations, having lost 6% of its total workforce.
The largest portion WSDOT employees to lose their jobs falls under the ferry service, which is already struggling to crew its boats. The state reports that 121 ferry service employees were fired for refusing to get vaccinated. Eight retired instead of getting the shot, and another three retired for unknown reasons.
