Dozens Of Workers File New Lawsuit Over Inslee's Vaccine Mandate

OLYMPIA, WA — A group of state employees is suing Gov. Jay Inslee, asking a court to toss out the governor's vaccine mandate as unconstitutional and beyond his authority. Dozens of workers are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed in Walla Walla County last week, including Washington State Patrol troopers, Department of Corrections employees, ferry workers and firefighters from several counties.

The governor's order, announced last month, requires state employees and health care workers to become fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or face termination, unless they meet a narrow set of standards for legitimate medical or religious exemptions. A separate order extends the same requirement to teachers and other educators.

The latest legal challenge follows an earlier suit filed by the Washington Federation of State Employees, which had sought to delay the deadline, but the union ratified an agreement with the state last week and dropped its opposition.

As the Northwest News Network reports, the new lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of more than 90 plaintiffs called Inslee's mandate "overly severe, punitive, and unconscionable." As the Seattle Times reports, the governor's office defended the mandate Monday, contending that Inslee's order was lawful, and pledged to defend it in court.

President Joe Biden announced similar requirements at the federal level last week, which would require vaccinations for health care workers, federal employees and contractors. Biden's orders also require employers with 100 or more employees to require vaccinations or implement weekly testing. Washington's mandate for state employees does not include a testing alternative.