In August, when Gov. Jay Inslee ordered state employees, health care workers and others to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 18, officials issued a stern warning: If you quit or get fired for refusing a jab, don’t expect unemployment benefits.
But nearly two months after the vaccination deadline, it’s unclear just how much vaccine-hesitant workers have to worry about.
Although thousands of workers in Washington likely have quit or been fired over government and private vaccine mandates — including nearly 2,000 state employees as of Nov. 15, according to state data — just 26 mandate-related claims for jobless benefits had been flagged for review by the state Employment Security Department as of Friday. Although the review process isn’t complete, ESD officials don’t believe that any of those claims have been denied.
The number of flagged claims is expected to rise in coming weeks as the ESD’s backlogged review process catches up with mandate-related claims, and as a much broader federal vaccine mandate aimed at firms with more than 100 employees goes into effect Jan. 4, said ESD spokesperson Nick Demerice. And, he added, “there will be many circumstances where if you leave your employer based on this requirement, you will not qualify for benefits.”
Some legal experts aren’t so sure. They think ESD ultimately may deny benefits only to a relatively small number of workers who quit or are fired over the mandate — in part due to broader uncertainty around rules granting...
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