Freedom Foundation Says No Way!
(OLYMPIA, Wash.) – Not content to let his philosophical neighbor to the south, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, receive all the national publicity for her latest draconian COVID measures, Jay Inslee released new guidance late on May 21, announcing that he, too, would begin requiring businesses to police vaccinations in their establishments.
Except Inslee wants to require Washingtonians to choose between their privacy and their job.
“Jay Inslee’s continued abuse of Washingtonians is an outrage,” declared Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe. “He dragged his feet for months, ignoring the science and delaying reopening our state. But now that he’s run out of excuses to keep people locked down, he is going to punish business owners and employees who want to get back to normal by forcing them to divulge their private health information to their coworkers by their behavior in the workplace.”
The new guidance would require employees to divulge their vaccination status in order to relax mask and distancing restrictions while on the job.
“Gov. Inslee needs to rescind this order immediately,” continued Withe. “The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has informed employers that if they require their employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment, any adverse reactions to the vaccine are considered work-related and must be recorded.”
“So Gov. Inslee is forcing business owners to decide whether they allow their employees to make their own healthcare decisions or force them into a position of liability with OSHA?”
Realizing that Govs. Inslee and Brown are both out of step with federal CDC and OSHA guidelines, and considering the Americans with Disabilities Act and other privacy regulations, Freedom Foundation attorneys are exploring legal options to hold the governors accountable in both states.
“The Freedom Foundation was the first to sue Inslee last year when he weaponized state agencies and sent his henchmen to shut down and fine businesses for not obeying his mask dictates,” continued Withe.
“Washington businesses have been through enough the last year,” he said, “just trying to survive. How much longer is he going to keep his foot on the neck of Washingtonians and our struggling business community?”
Inslee has behaved like an “out-of-touch king throughout this whole COVID pandemic,” concluded Withe. “But now he’s just become a tyrant drunk on emergency power, and we’re prepared to sue him over this vaccine passport, too.”
