San Jose Spotlight
Officials at Santa Clara County's largest water supplier are on the defense after a whistleblower publicly accused the agency of retaliating against employees unvaccinated for COVID-19.
An anonymous whistleblower calling himself "John Public" commented at a Valley Water meeting on June 28 and released a video on YouTube, which is no longer available, claiming the district's vaccination policy is discriminatory. Valley Water requires all workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they have an approved medical or religious exemption.
As of July, 98.82% of Valley Water's 851 employees are vaccinated, spokesperson Matt Keller told San Jose Spotlight. CEO Rick Callender said in a statement last week that with COVID infections still high, the public health emergency necessitates upholding the vaccination policy. As of Thursday, the seven-day rolling average of new reported infections in the county is 939, down from last month's average of 1,099 on June 28.
"Our critical infrastructure provides water to residents and businesses," Callender said. "While we understand there may be a few people who disagree with the policy, it is necessary during this time to follow the science and our public health leaders, not just for us, but for the people we serve."
The whistleblower disagreed. "The district has forced many of us out of their livelihoods already and the process is to put you through great duress/coercion. To be treated in this discipline process is...
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