California State Legislature employees who did not start the COVID-19 vaccination before September 1 and did not have approved religious or medical exemption documents have now been assigned unpaid leave—even those employees who work remotely—reportedly directed at Legislative sources who spoke to RedState on an anonymous basis.
Speaker Anthony Rendon announced the policy on August 16, stating that the authorization was implemented “with the support of parliamentarians” under his guidance, but he did not want his staff to be restrained by this. Authorized MPs were completely ignored or not solicited comments. Rendon’s tweet stated that it pretended to be sympathetic, and the subject was “We just want to help.”
We are implementing a new policy #Coronavirus disease Vaccinate parliament staff.
My full statement is as follows. pic.twitter.com/1b0qHSMp8k
— Anthony Rendon (@Rendon63rd) August 16, 2021
When reading the memo sent to all employees, it became clear that the content of the actual policy was much sharper—even if it lacked details. As reported by the California Globe, Rendon pointed out that the conference has achieved an 80% vaccination rate, but this is not enough to “end” COVID:
“Vaccination is our best bastion against spread, even in the face of Delta variants.
“Therefore, this requirement is mandatory, and violations may be adversely affected, even including termination of the employment relationship.
The memo did not specify whether employees who had contracted COVID-19 and recovered and therefore had antibodies would still need to be vaccinated. It also did not say whether, like other workplaces, employees can be tested daily instead of vaccinated, or whether they can seek remote work permits instead of vaccinations. Employees who want to apply for religious or medical exemptions are instructed to contact their human resources representative for “guidance.”
The paragraph at the end of the two-page memo is both ignorant and chilling.
“This policy will create a safer workplace and support four-fifths of employees who have already taken important vaccination steps. We will continue to help those who have not been vaccinated to comply with regulations, including proper vaccination leave and vaccination. Response leave, and conference employees are already entitled to these holidays.”
How about “supporting” 80% of the employees vaccinated? In this part of the meeting, many employees did not even show up in the Capitol-remember that the district staff of the parliamentarians are also parliamentary employees, and due to the ongoing and never-ending state of emergency, many parliamentary employees are still working at home. Must Employees who entered the Capitol in person were forced to wear double-layer masks on their noses and mouths at all times, and were tested multiple times a week, regardless of whether they were vaccinated or not. So, how does a random masked, unvaccinated employee infect a masked, vaccinated employee? If possible, we should give up now.
Lunden continued to issue a chilling statement that they will “continue to help those who have not been vaccinated to comply with the regulations.” In other words, “You will be assimilated.”
Due to lack of details, Follow-up “FAQ” memo Sent by Debra Gravert, Chief Administrative Officer of Parliament, on August 23. As for whether there are other alternatives to vaccination, Gravert wrote:
COVID-19 vaccination is a requirement of all employees. If you cannot be vaccinated due to medical treatment or sincere religious beliefs, an exemption will be considered.
What if an employee has a documented COVID-19 infection and still has antibodies?
Employees still need to provide documents proving that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have been approved for exemption.
What if they just want more time? Do not.
Regardless of whether you work remotely or not, all employees must comply with the COVID-19 vaccination regulations.
How can the General Assembly ask employees to accept the jab? Graffer wrote:
According to the “Fair Employment and Housing Act”, employers can require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as long as the employer does not discriminate or harass employees or job applicants based on protected characteristics, provide for disability or sincerely hold religious beliefs or customs, and Will not retaliate against any employee who engages in protected activities (such as requesting reasonable accommodation).
Is it revenge to let employees take unpaid leave without giving them the opportunity to complete their work remotely? According to Gravert, only when their refusal to accept vaxxed is due to genuine religious beliefs or “disability”.
Even if parliament is not allowed to retaliate, harass, or discriminate against employees who decide not to vaccinate, it does not make any sense. As we all know, when powerful parliamentarians want to retaliate or harass people, the parliamentary rules committee takes a different look, and the definition of “retaliation” changes frequently.
Knowing this, members whose employees are unceremoniously suspended from pay—may not receive unemployment benefits if they are dismissed—are afraid to persevere for their employees and work for them with the Rules Committee, which also controls Assemble human resources. In addition to personal retaliation from the Democratic leadership, their employees may be fired, setting an example for any other lawmakers who might want to fight back. Since the termination may be due to failure to comply with mandatory work requirements, the employee may even have difficulty obtaining unemployment eligibility. The casual, non-unionized civil servants of parliamentary employees cannot be like teachers, nurses, Firefighters and law enforcement officers.
Nonetheless, Assembly insiders told RedState that a group of members are meeting with external legal counsel to understand how they can best help their employees and get them back to work-at least remotely-until the problem is resolved .
The California Senate has no similar authorization.
Legislative sources cannot clearly state whether Governor Gavin Newsom is aware of such punitive and unnecessary actions taken by the assembly against these workers. But this is a good question for him.
(Note: California Attorney Harmeet Dhillon Twitter topic The employer’s requirements for vaccines are instructive. )
