SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Fire Department may lose 48 firefighters and first responders temporarily or permanently due to those employees not being vaccinated by the Oct. 18 deadline set forth in Governor Jay Inslee's mandate.
Those 48 firefighters have applied for and gotten approval for exemptions to the vaccine mandate. Employers must offer accommodations to those employees for them to keep working, and the City of Spokane is offering six - but all of them result in the employee either becoming fully vaccinated or leaving their job.
Tim Archer, the president of the Spokane Firefighters Union and a Spokane firefighter with 20 years of experience, is one of those 48 on track to lose his job.
"Its really been heartbreaking," Archer said. "I get many phone calls from folks who are doing something that violates their conscious under duress because they're being threatened with their paycheck."
The city said it wouldn't be reasonable to provide accommodations to the unvaccinated that aren't too expensive or that don't put others at risk, while the Spokane Firefighters Union claimed the city isn't cooperating with them to find a solution that doesn't result in first responders losing their jobs.
"The bottom line is, the state mandate is in place, the city is required to comply with that state mandate," City Spokesperson Brian Coddington said. "Making those accommodations was not safe for the public or for those on shift and in the department with those firefighters."
Violating the mandate is a gross misdemeanor in Washington.
The six accommodations all result in the person leaving their post, employees applying for a different city job not covered by the mandate, or getting fully vaccinated at some point after the state's deadline and returning to work.
Coddington said accommodations that keep unvaccinated first responders on crews would require hard to enforce rules, such as 24 hour mask wearing while on-duty or while in fire stations, and testing requirements that could cost as much as $1,000,000 a year.
Archer said the city is using projections that they aren't supposed to, and that the city has refused to meet with experts the union offered to bring in that could offer guidance on possible accommodations that would keep people employed. He also said he's worried for the safety of the community if so many first responders lose their job at once.
"I'm very concerned and I've worked in downtown Spokane for 20 years," Archer said. "It's sad to see that a solvable problem is being gone after with a solution that discards its employees and jeopardizes public safety."
Coddington said the city has methods planned to hire more firefighters in the case that some of all of the 48 choose not to get vaccinated, including hiring trained firefighters and those finishing training at firefighting academies. He also said the point of the six options offered - some of which give employees multiple weeks to get vaccinated and return to work - is in order to comply with the mandate and keep people safe.
"Our goal is to maintain people in employment, and to give them as many opportunities to do that," Coddington said. "That's why there's the flexibility in those options, to be able to give people as much time as they need to consult their providers, to make the decision that they need to make and get the vaccination if that's the route they choose."
Coddington also said there was concern over response times going up due to unvaccinated first responders not being allowed inside businesses with a vaccine requirement.
Both Coddington and Archer said discussions have been held between the two sides. Archer pointed to the fact that firefighters have been wearing Personal Protective Equipment that the state has deemed as providing them protection throughout the pandemic while working unvaccinated, while Coddington said that even with PPE, there has been a significant impact on local fire crews due to time off and worker's compensation claims filed due to COVID-19.
Archer also pointed to the fact that Spokane County Fire District 9 is providing accommodations that allow firefighters and first responders to remain employed, which SCFD 9 Fire Chief Jack Cates confirmed to KREM/
Six accommodations offered
The six accommodations offer different levels of benefits, paid time off, and pathways back to employment if the employee chooses.
Essential Function Layoff would see employees with enough paid days off saved receive their paychecks until Nov. 1, when they would be separated from the city and no longer paid. These employees would be paid for accumulated vacation up to the maximum limit, according to a City of Spokane Human Resources document. Sick leave isn't paid out because this is considered involuntary separation, but is stored for up to three years in the case the employee returns to work with the city.
These employees can remain on layoff status for three years, which can be extended indefinitely if they opt to take a demotion to remain employed. They can also apply for unemployment.
Leave Without Pay (LWOP) can be used for up 90 days, according to the HR document, and paid leave is frozen during that time. If an employee remains under this status for more than 90 days, they are then moved to Essential Function Layoff status unless they choose to resign or retire.
Resignation allows for an employee's last day to be Oct. 17, and anyone who resigns over the vaccine mandate will be seen as leaving "in good standing" with the city, but would have to go through the Civil Service hiring process if they wanted a city job in the future. Vacation days are fully cashed out, while sick leave is paid out on a scale.
Retirement is another of the accommodations offered. It is similar to resignation, with an employee's last eligible shift being Oct. 17. The employee must be eligible for retirement under the city's eligibility criteria, and like resignations, will have vacation days paid in full and sick days paid on a scale.
Separation is the only option that doesn't require notification from the employee to the city. This happens when employees don't choose one of the other options, and are "separated from service" on Oct. 19. Separation isn't considered to be a disciplinary action, and employees again leave "in good standing" with the city. However, anyone who chooses this route must go through the Civil Service hiring process again if they want a job with the City of Spokane in the future.
Vacation days are paid out, but no sick days are paid for due to it being a case of involuntary separation. Those eligible for retirement can draw on those benefits.
Paid Leave allows employees to use days from their paid leave banks, including sick leave days, until they can be fully vaccinated. Those choosing to get fully vaccinated after the deadline have until Nov. 30 to do so, and would need to use those leave days to get paid for the days they are off before they are deemed eligible to return.