AEE Mandatory Vaccination Update

Greetings AEE Members,

As many of you know, Governor Brown made an announcement today (August 10, 2021) that all Executive Agency State employees will be required to get a COVID vaccination by October 18, 2021 or six weeks from the date that the vaccine is fully approved for use by the US Food and Drug and Administration (the vaccine is currently approved for emergency use but is pending full approval), whichever is later. AEE has already received messages from several members who are concerned about the Governor’s announcement and we wanted to update you on what we are doing in response to the announcement. This afternoon AEE filed a demand to bargain with the State over this announcement so that we can work to address the various impacts that the decision will cause. We will be pushing the State to come to the table and begin bargaining over this important issue. We will update you as we have more information, but please provide us with your input on this issue so that we can raise those concerns and thoughts with the State. You can send messages to the AEE office (office@aeeo.org) or contact us via the AEE website (aeeo.org). 

AEE recognizes the importance of all employees having a safe workplace. Health guidelines and safety procedures recommend by the State and Federal government are essential steps to ensure our members are safe and healthy. We also recognize the need to balance safety with protections for employees’ rights and address the impacts on working conditions. We will do our best to balance these interests and rights.

In the meantime, we wanted to provide some information in response to some frequent questions people have asked. Below is general guidance on the mandatory vaccinations. The message will also be placed on our AEE website. Will keep updating our members as new information comes out.

COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccinations

Subject to collective bargaining, your employer can mandate COVID vaccinations. The United States Supreme Court held that it was constitutional to require vaccines as a matter of the state’s (and a local government’s) right to regulate public safety. Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905) (affirming the legality of mandatory vaccines in response to the smallpox virus).  More recently, a Texas federal court ruled that employees—in that case a police officer—had the right not to get vaccinated, but did not have the right to maintain your employment. Bridges v. Houston Methodist Hospital, Case No. 21-CV-01774 (S.D. Tex. 2021) (“Bridges can freely choose to accept or refuse a COVID-19 vaccine; however, if she refuses, she will simply need to work somewhere else.”). 

Note that some states, such as Oregon, have specific laws prohibiting mandatory vaccinations for certain employees, such as law enforcement, firefighters, and healthcare workers. 

There are some limited legal exceptions to the authority to require vaccines, including the need to accommodate certain bona fide religious objections to vaccines, or specific personal health reason that makes vaccines unsafe.

In unity,

-AEE