Dozens of Washington State Patrol troopers, firefighters and other state and local government employees have sued Gov. Jay Inslee, contending that his COVID-19 vaccine mandate oversteps his legal authority and violates their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Walla Walla County Superior Court, lists more than 90 individual plaintiffs. They include 53 State Patrol employees, a dozen Department of Corrections workers, plus firefighters and state ferry system workers.
Reacting to a spike in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations driven by unvaccinated people, Inslee last month ordered all state employees and contractors, K-12 education staffers, and health-care workers to get fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Oct. 18 or lose their jobs. Employees are allowed to seek medical or religious exemptions, but patrol employees and others have been told they could still face firing or reassignment even if their exemption applications are approved.
The lawsuit cites emails showing Inslee’s office crafted the religious exemption to be “as narrow as possible” and contends his order will result “in certain political and religious classes being purged from civil service,” according to the 25-page complaint filed by Seattle attorney Nathan Arnold.
Inslee’s office has defended his order, which has been supported by public health officials, who stress the COVID-19 vaccines are key to ending the pandemic that has killed more than 650,000 people in the United States, and 6,918 in Washington. (Seattle Times)
