McCaslin: Rehire unvaccinated DOT workers

SPOKANE VALLEY — An Eastern Washington lawmaker has introduced a bill in Olympia to allow the state Department of Transportation to rehire workers who refused coronavirus testing and vaccination.

Rep. Bob McCaslin said the governor’s get a shot or get fired effort went too far, and has resulted in slow response times to clearing snow from roads, among other transportation issues.

“Our governor fired several key workers last fall who refused to comply with his vaccine mandate,” McCaslin said. “These workers would have made a difference in recent pass closures due to snow removal.”

As WSDOT has publicly stated, they lost 5.9% of their workforce agency wide due to the vaccine mandate, regardless of whether or not these individuals already had COVID and thus strong immunity.”

As a result, he’s introduced House Bill House Bill 1963, “An act relating to improving safety and preservation by allowing the Washington State Department of Transportation to either hire or rehire maintenance and preservation employees that have acquired immunities to COVID-19.”

It has an emergency clause and would go into effect immediately upon passing the Legislature and receiving the governor’s signature.

McCaslin’s move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the Biden Administration’s effort to require private companies with more than 100 employees to require COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing.

The federal government announced the mandate in September and it was set to take effect later this month. Under the order, OSHA would be allowed to fine private companies that did not require vaccination or testing, at approximately $14,000 per violation.

The mandate did not apply to governmental employees, as OSHA does not have jurisdiction over other government agencies.

McCaslin said the governor’s efforts are tantamount to the Biden Administration overstepping its authority.

“My bill brings a measure of common sense into the governor’s decision to fire WSDOT workers and help improve safety on the highway system. If a snow plow operator or maintenance worker can show they have already had COVID, and thus the best immunity to further infection, we should get them back doing what the citizens of Washington want and need them to do,” McCaslin said.

McCaslin said his bill is a continuation of his successful effort last legislative session to prioritize the preservation and maintenance of state roads and highways. Last year’s bill, House Bill 1137, passed the Legislature and was signed into law.

It requires WSDOT to perform its duties with preservation of the existing system and safety as its top priorities.

“We are slowly making progress on preserving and maintaining our state’s highways,” said McCaslin. “Currently, the governor’s firing of nearly 6% of WSDOT’s workforce will have a negative impact on the progress we’ve made. I think a man or woman sitting alone in their snowplow truck, who has already had COVID-19 poses little to no risk to anyone else in WSDOT or the general public. We should allow these individuals to get back to the career’s they’ve trained for and love.”

House Bill 1963 would allow rehired WSDOT workers to return at their previous level of seniority.