King County Lost 290 Public Employees Over Vaccine Mandate

Seattle WA

12 May, 2022

6:51 PM

Description

KING COUNTY, WA — A county-level mandate requiring King County employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive an accommodation ultimately resulted in the departure of 290 employees, the executive's office announced Thursday. Officials said more than 98 percent of the county's 14,806 public employees complied with the mandate after it took effect in October, and accommodations were found for 83 workers who sought exemptions. At the deadline, up to 450 workers faced potential termination. According to King County Executive Dow Constantine's office, fewer than 2 percent of the county's workforce refused to comply with the order and eventually faced termination. King County Metro saw the highest number of departures, losing 103 of its 5,191 employees, including 51 bus drivers. The King County Sheriff's Office lost 51 employees, including three dozen deputies and seven sergeants, and the Department of Natural Resources and Parks lost 50 employees. The executive's office and King County Elections saw no departures. Here is a breakdown of the vaccine mandate terminations from King County: Department of Adult & Juvenile DetentionTotal employees in October: 827Accommodations: 0Terminations: 15Department of Community and Human ServicesTotal employees in October: 537Accommodations: 2Terminations: 6Department of Executive ServicesTotal employees in October: 891Accommodations: 5Terminations: 14Department of Human ResourcesTotal employees in October: 156Accommodations: 4Terminations: 1Department of Judicial AdministrationTotal employees in October: 215Accommodations: 1Terminations: 2Department of Local ServicesTotal employees in October: 511 Accommodations: 6Terminations: 16Department of Natural Resources and ParksTotal employees in October: 2,033Accommodations: 15Terminations: 50Department of AssessmentsTotal employees in October: 205Accommodations: 8Terminations: 2Department of Public DefenseTotal employees in October: 403Accommodations: 0Terminations: 4Department of Public HealthTotal employees in October: 1,966Accommodations: 15Terminations: 25Executive DepartmentTotal employees in October: 141Accommodations: 1Terminations: 0King County ElectionsTotal employees in October: 169Accommodations: 1Terminations: 0Information TechnologyTotal employees in October: 468Accommodations: 14Terminations: 1 (+1 pending)King County Sheriff's OfficeTotal employees in October: 1,093Accommodations: 2Terminations: 51King County MetroTotal employees in October: 5,191Accommodations: 9Terminatins: 103