California Assembly employees must get vaccinated to keep their jobs, top Democrat says

California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, is requiring all Assembly employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face termination, according to a memo sent to employees on Monday.

Workers have until Sept. 1 to start their vaccination process, unless they have a medical or religious reason to skip the shots. Rendon said that will give his house nearly two weeks to begin working toward greater levels of immunity before the Legislature adjourns for the year on Sept. 10.

The requirement will help provide “additional protection for anyone entering the Capitol,” Rendon said, and he made the decision with “the support of Assemblymembers.”

“Therefore, this requirement is mandatory and violations may be subject to adverse action, up to and including termination of employment,” Rendon wrote in the memo.

Legislative employees already had to submit proof of vaccination to Capitol health staff. If they didn’t, they were required to get tested regularly via services provided in-house for members and staff.

Unvaccinated employees working in the Capitol and the Legislative Office Building still have to get tested daily until they’re finished with their vaccination schedule, according to the memo. Essential employees who have to work in the back of chamber or in committee hearings have to get tested twice a week even if they are vaccinated.

Rendon said the Assembly will host upcoming vaccine clinics and will help those working in district offices find a location near them. Rendon said he is open to “more steps to protect staff,” but didn’t specify.

In a statement, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said she will “continue to monitor the situation to determine whether a vaccination mandate of the Senate workforce at large is needed.” Atkins also said there have been no cases transmitted between Senate employees working in the building, and that her house has a 91% vaccination rate.

Rendon said the vaccination rate in the Assembly is above 80%.

But in recent weeks, multiple vaccinated staffers have become infected with so-called “breakthrough cases.” While the vaccines don’t guarantee 100% protection from infection, they do greatly protect those from the worst of the virus’ symptoms, including hospitalization and death.

The building had slowly started to reopen its doors following the lifting of all coronavirus restrictions in mid-June, but a cluster of infections forced leadership to reinstate protections like a mask mandate in the building. Since then, top human resources personnel have announced new infections on a weekly basis. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office also announced on Monday that a vaccinated employee had tested positive for the virus.

Rendon’s latest decision comes as the Legislature reconvenes for the first time since mid-July and amid the highly infectious delta variant. Members have a month to pass bills and send them to Newsom’s desk, and lobbyists, reporters and members of the public are expected to show up in greater numbers as lawmakers negotiate deals and debate legislation.

The mandate also follows Newsom’s announcements that health care workers and teachers need to get vaccinated, though educators will be allowed to regularly test instead.

Rendon announced the policy on the same day that hundreds of demonstrators, including many nurses and other health professionals, showed up at the Capitol to protest the rules. Their signs read messages like “Coercion is not consent,” and “Freedom not force.”

“Having a fully vaccinated staff will make the California State Assembly a national leader in COVID safety,” Rendon wrote. “We cannot end COVID alone, but we can take steps to move us in the right direction and to lead by example. Acting together offers a way to get beyond this pandemic.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 4:53 PM.