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Santa Clara, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties health officials on Thursday urged employers to demand their workers get vaccinated as soon as possible, as the Bay Area is seeing an increase in COVID-19, mostly among those who have not been vaccinated.
And Santa Clara County said Thursday afternoon that it intends to lead by example by requiring its 22,000 employees to be vaccinated.
County health officials said California’s easing of pandemic restrictions since mid-June and the rapid spread of the more contagious delta variant had resulted in significantly higher case rates and a higher risk of transmission. in companies and workplaces.
“Workers not vaccinated against COVID-19 pose a significant health and financial risk to the workplace,” said Dr Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County Health Officer. “Most importantly, workplace exposures have resulted in serious illness and death. “
Thursday’s announcement was not a mandate – so employers who do not follow it will not face sanctions, although health officials have said they hope a recommendation is sufficient.
“We have seen recommendations work in the past,” said Dr George Han, Santa Clara County Assistant Health Officer, adding that county officials were energized by hearing from some employers that a recommendation would be helpful. “Could there be other actions in the future? Sure.”
In May, Santa Clara County asked companies to determine the immunization status of their workers before the state reopened in June, when the state’s workplace regulator said workers vaccinated did not. no need to wear masks at work, although Bay Area County health workers are now urging everyone to wear masks indoors.
Derrick Seaver, CEO of The Silicon Valley Organization group of companies, said its members broadly support the recommendations of health workers. But unlike masking requirements, vaccination rules present “thorny legal issues” that many companies lack the legal resources to navigate on their own.
“The only request that I think a number of our members would have … is simply for the director of health to provide very clear and very consistent advice on how they can respond to this recommendation in a way that minimizes their burden. legal liability, ”Seaver said.
Health officials have not explained how an employee vaccination requirement should work or whether employees who have refused to be vaccinated should lose their jobs, although they said it would be a possibility.
“Employers are allowed to establish workplace safety requirements and enforce workplace safety requirements, and if an employee creates an unsafe working environment, there are consequences for that,” Farnitano said.
Health officials have said that in addition to requiring vaccinations, employers should also require medical-grade face masks and frequent COVID-19 testing for employees who are not yet fully vaccinated. When asked if a fully vaccinated workforce should always wear face masks, they replied that it would be reasonable to allow them to do without them, although if they are dealing with the public, they should continue to wear them.
Enrique Fernandez, Commercial Director at Unite Here! Silicon Valley Local 19, which represents some 8,000 South Bay workers in hotels, cafeterias, convention centers, restaurants, casinos, airports and airlines, said the union supported vaccination efforts. But the details of an employee’s vaccination mandate would have to be negotiated, and he would have a problem with a policy in which an unvaccinated worker could be fired.
“We are not going to support any termination,” Fernandez said. “However, we have to protect everyone. The advantage we have as a union is that they have to negotiate with us.
The recommendation comes as new cases have risen to such an extent that if California still had the color-coded reopening plan it retired on June 15, a dozen California counties would be in the most purple level. restrictive for generalized infections, including Contra Costa, Alameda and Solano. San Francisco and Santa Clara are said to be in the second most restrictive red level.
Although the new infections and hospitalizations have mainly affected the unvaccinated, health experts and government officials have called for stricter measures to boost vaccinations.
Kim McCarl, a communications manager for Contra Costa County, said that while only three of the nine Bay Area county health officials make the recommendation now, “we anticipate that we will see more in the next few years. days”.
The state has required nursing home staff to be vaccinated, and Contra Costa County and San Francisco have extended this to other high-risk settings, including hospitals and correctional facilities.
Last month, San Francisco announced it would require all 37,000 city workers to be vaccinated, but only when the vaccines – now under emergency use authorization in the United States – are fully approved. Santa Clara County Director Jeff Smith on Thursday said his county would not wait for full approval before making the requirement, which he acknowledged will need to be negotiated with unions. employees. He said about 80% of workers in the county are vaccinated. Contra Costa County officials have not indicated plans for a county-wide employee vaccine requirement.
Health officials said current state and federal labor law supports employers requiring documentation of immunization status, requiring vaccination as a condition of employment, and requiring additional safety precautions, including masking and frequent testing for unvaccinated employees.
Sandra L. Rappaport, an employment lawyer at the Hanson Bridgett law firm in San Francisco, said employees who do not want to be vaccinated might have little recourse if their employer demands it.
“A private employer can impose any condition of employment as long as the condition is not illegal,” Rappaport said. “And there is no law at this time that prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to be vaccinated as a condition of employment.”
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