The looming Oct. 18 vaccination deadline set by Gov. Kate Brown will apply to less than a fifth of the state’s 42,270 executive branch workers - and could apply to even fewer depending on the outcome of ongoing collective bargaining agreements.
That’s because unions representing almost 28,000 state employees have negotiated deals to delay the deadline to be fully vaccinated to Nov. 30. The state also independently extended the deadline to Nov. 30 for another 7,156 unrepresented workers and employees in management and executive services.
Those roughly 35,000 workers will have to prove they’ve received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 18 but won’t have to be fully vaccinated until the end of November, six weeks beyond Brown’s original deadline.
That appears to leave only about 7,000 state workers who will have to prove they are fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 to avoid potentially losing their jobs.
Liz Merah, a spokesperson for Brown, said more than half of those remaining workers are represented by other unions, including those for police officers, corrections officers and firefighters. Merah said those unions remain in negotiations with the state. It is not clear whether those unions will negotiate an extension to the vaccination deadline before Oct. 18.
Brown originally established the Oct. 18 vaccination deadline in an executive order in August.
“Rather than terminating employees who haven’t been fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, the state has agreed to a process that allows employees to demonstrate intent and forward progress – through having received a first dose by Oct. 18 – in becoming fully vaccinated,” Merah said in an email. “Again, this is a more productive path than someone not getting vaccinated at all and leaving state service.”
As of Oct. 8, the state had received proof of vaccination from 27,813 executive branch employees, or about 65% of those state workers, according to the Department of Administrative Services. Another 2,638 executive branch employees had submitted requests to be exempt from the vaccination requirement for religious reasons, while an additional 342 workers requested exemptions for medical reasons.
Workers who have submitted an exemption request by Oct. 18 will be allowed to continue in their roles but must work remotely or take paid or unpaid leave until their request is processed. If their request is denied, they will have seven days to get the first dose of a vaccine before potentially losing their jobs.
Deadline extensions have been a likely outcome ever since Service Employees International Union Local 503 last month negotiated a grace period for its roughly 24,000 members.
Now, under the state’s agreements with SEIU Local 503, AFSCME Council 75 and the Association of Engineering Employees of Oregon, members of those unions who have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 18 will be allowed to work remotely until they become fully vaccinated. Employees who can’t perform their jobs remotely will be allowed to take paid or unpaid leave until they become fully vaccinated. The same rules will apply to the 7,000 unrepresented workers who have received the same extension.
“The goal of the Governor’s vaccine requirement is to get as many Oregonians vaccinated as possible, including state workers,” Merah said in an email. “That is the only path out of this pandemic. The terms of these agreements allow someone who took the first step in getting fully vaccinated to prevent a separation of service and continue working remotely in state service while they complete the process.”
— Jamie Goldberg; jgoldberg@oregonian.com; @jamiebgoldberg