{"id":1556385,"date":"2022-07-15T12:07:04","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T16:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1556385"},"modified":"2022-07-15T12:19:44","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T16:19:44","slug":"washington-firefighters-sue-for-171-million-due-to-vax-mandate-related-terminations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washington-firefighters-sue-for-171-million-due-to-vax-mandate-related-terminations\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Firefighters Sue for $171 Million Due to Vax-Mandate Related Terminations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwashington-firefighters-sue-for-171-million-due-to-vax-mandate-related-terminations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1556385&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>10 employees of Eastside Fire &#038; Rescue in King County, Wash. plan to file tort claims for more than $171 million in damages suit against their old employer for wrongful <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/first-responders-fired-by-inslee\">termination<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.q13fox.com\/news\/unvaccinated-firefighters-file-171m-tort-claims-saying-their-termination-violates-civil-rights\">Fox 13<\/a>, former firefighter Rocky Martinez was told by the department they wouldn\u2019t accommodate his religious exemption and that he feels betrayed by the agency he devoted a life of service and sacrifice. He told the outlet, &#8220;It hurts when I see a unit going by. I should be doing that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\"><\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Martinez\u2019s suit alone is seeking more than $15 million in lost future wages and other damages. Martinez and his family are leaving the state over the issue.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Daniel Webster of the WA Civil Rights Council told <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kvi.com\/the-ari-hoffman-show\/\">The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI<\/a>,<\/em> &#8220;This is happening due to the fact that management cannot find\/make accommodations for them (testing\/masks) from which they have been perfectly fine with doing for the last 2 years. NOW, they are &#8216;too&#8217; infectious? This is also happening at the same time that unvaccinated nurses are being &#8216;rehired&#8217; in the King County hospitals (and even in COVID units).&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>He added<strong>, &#8220;<\/strong>Our first responders have been selfless heroes and now our cities want to throw these brave men and women under the bus.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>According to the organization, a <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/professor-sues-school-over-forced-land-acknowledgment-statement\">University of Washington<\/a> study by Dr. Rea, the King County Medical Director, and published by the CDC, demonstrated that there have been no know transmissions of covid between patients and firefighters when Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) is in use.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>During a meeting of the board of the department on Thursday, other firefighters pleaded their case. Former captain Frank Dahlquist said, &#8220;All we want to do is come back. This is not just a job for us that we\u2019ve put years for training in\u2014 it\u2019s a calling.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Firefighter Michael Butcher asked to end the department\u2019s policy of vaccine mandates or termination. \u00a0&#8220;COVID-19 doesn\u2019t discriminate. Discrimination in employment is illegal. We all have equal opportunity to get it\u2014 no reason to discriminate anybody on their status.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Some of the f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.q13fox.com\/news\/firefighter-of-18-years-in-east-king-county-is-fired-due-to-states-covid-19-vaccine-mandate\">ormer employees are volunteering in other jurisdictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>The fire chief told Fox 13 In a statement that the agency is &#8220;prioritizing health and safety for the community abiding by the governor\u2019s vaccine mandate,&#8221; and that the department is cooperating with investigators from the equal employment opportunity commission.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Hundreds of firefighters in King County who had medical or religious exemptions from Democrat Governor Jay Inslee\u2019s vaccine mandate were universally not given accommodations to continue working.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>King County Firefighters United told Hoffman that the State of Washington\u2019s vaccine mandate and the Department of Health\u2019s guidelines clearly state healthcare workers and firefighters can continue to work as normal with accommodations. King County fire departments universally denied accommodations for firefighters to remain in patient care settings. Many departments in other counties kept their unvaccinated members working in other capacities.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>They added that Eastside Fire &#038; Rescue will be firing almost 10 percent of its line staff workforce with approximately 167 years of combined experience. It was projected to cost approximately $140,000 per lost firefighter to backfill their positions with overtime plus, to hire a new person to replace each employee, between wages, training, and firefighting equipment costs approximately $100,000. That is approximately $240,000 per firefighter lost and that is to get an in-experienced person working.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>From January 2022 through March, Eastside has spent $1.2 million in overtime and now faces a staffing crisis as well.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Other departments in the county are having the same problems. According to documents obtained by <em>The Post Millennial, <\/em>so far in 2022, the Seattle Fire Department was understaffed 69 percent of the time and had to spend more than $11 million in overtime to cover the vacancies.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>This was a massive increase from 2021 when the department was not fully staffed 49 percent of the time.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Due to the lack of staffing, units are taken offline which used to be called a &#8220;brown out,&#8221; before the term was deemed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/news\/brown-out-seattle-fire-department\">racist<\/a>. 486 units were browned out in 2022, compared to 176 at the same time in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-embed-card\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Seattle PD and Seattle Fire walking up the stairs of Seattle City Hall to turn in their boots. These a excellent officers and firefighters with years of service that truly can\u2019t be replaced. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OmfrMhCNpc\">pic.twitter.com\/OmfrMhCNpc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Katie Daviscourt?? (@KatieDaviscourt) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KatieDaviscourt\/status\/1450569070827368454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Thousands of first responders and other state and municipal workers have been <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/first-responders-fired-by-inslee\">terminated due to state, county, and city vaccine mandates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<figure class=\"kg-card kg-embed-card\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Former WA State Patrol troopers, fired by Governor Jay Inslee because of his vaccine mandate, set 74 hats and pairs of boots on the steps of the Capitol in Olympia today to represent each missing trooper.<\/p>\n<p>I wonder how many of them provided personal security for Inslee? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rK8838g7YD\">pic.twitter.com\/rK8838g7YD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thehoffather\/status\/1450669611335053319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 20, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>On Sunday night, the King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD) in Washington state <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/exclusive-seattle-jail-closes-booking-area-due-to-staffing-shortage\">closed the booking area at their Seattle jail due to a lack of staff<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-v-f313b7e6=\"\">\n<p>Staffing has drastically affected not just first responders but also Washington&#8217;s extensive <a href=\"https:\/\/andrewbarkis.houserepublicans.wa.gov\/2021\/10\/15\/kvi-ferry-shortage\/\">ferry system<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>10 employees of Eastside Fire &#038; Rescue in King County, Wash. plan to file tort claims for more than $171 million in damages suit against their old employer for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1573857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1556385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1556385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1573857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1556385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1556385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1556385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}