Discrimination in the workplace is becoming commonplace, especially in the healthcare setting. This is not a new situation, but it is a worsening one. When I was working on the units in the hospital is was common to not get your meal break. You grab a bite of your lunch whenever you can if you are lucky; a gulp of water as you dash by your water bottle at the nurse's station. A bathroom break was a wishful thought.
This has not changed but has worsened with the illegal mandates regarding COVID. Hospitals take these press conferences and proclamations as laws to follow when they are mere words coming out of a person's mouth. Laws must be made by the legislature and CANNOT violate the US Constitution.
It has come to my attention that hospitals are telling nurses who have chosen to not take the COVID vaccine due to religious or medical reasons, they have to wear N95 masks 100% of the time in the building, which means no food or drink for the entire shift. A nursing shift may be 12-hours of paid time, but the shift actually runs 12.5 hours not accounting for the frequent overtime to chart. It is very unhealthy to have nothing to drink for 12 or more hours. Legally, the person is to have 3-15 minute breaks & 1-30 minute lunch break during a 12-hour shift. Since the nurse is not allowed to remove the N95 mask while in the building, this means no food or drink, even in the break room. Telling the nurse to go to their car for their breaks is not realistic nor practical. Employee parking is usually more than a 10-minute walk from the unit, each way. What about those nurses that have to change into hospital-issued scrubs (i.e. OB, surgery, PACU, burn units)? They would have to change clothes before returning to work, which adds more time.
This discrimination against the nurses who chose to not take the vaccine at this time is a blatant violation of federal and state laws. Most nurses have received all their vaccines. The vaccines were required for nursing school and for hire. I for one was NEVER told that the vaccines I was told I had to have contained heavy metals, chemicals such as formaldehyde, polyethylene glycol, polysorbate 80, and fetal cells. If I had been told this in nursing school I would NOT have taken any vaccine. Remember the COVID shot is still experimental and under the EUA no person can be forced to take it (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/resources-federal-law-prohibits-mandates-emergency-use-covid-vaccines-tests-masks/). Here is the link to the FDA and the Emergency Authorization for Use (https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/emergency-use-authorization).
Under the Patient's Rights Act (https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1993/text), no patient can be forced to take any medical treatment, medication, or procedure. This bill states in the very beginning the purpose of the bill is "To restrict Federal funding for health care entities that do not respect all human life and patient rights." This means that the hospital is not respecting the employees' human life and rights risks losing federal funding. Use this information. In requiring the employee to take an experimental vaccine, the employee becomes the patient. Hospitals receive state and federal funds (think Medicare and Medicaid), thus they fall under the list of agencies required to follow this law. The NIH lists the patient's rights here including "To refuse to participate in research" https://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/participate/patientinfo/legal/bill_of_rights.html
The hospital cannot intentionally cause harm by any means on any person including "prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device" (Congressional Bill S 1993 - Patient Rights Act). This same wording is found in the hospital pamphlet given to patients when they enter the hospital. This is a contract between the patient and the facility. Patient rights are also the law in Washington State. https://www.insurance.wa.gov/patient-bill-rights
Washington's laws are stricter than the federal laws, and cover informed consent - verbal and written (this is NOT happening with vaccines); confidentiality & privacy (vaccine passports violate this); spiritual care (violating religious beliefs in forcing the COVID vaccine); the right to refuse care & treatment; to complain about the care and treatment without retribution or denial of care (not happening for employees or patients). Finally, if the facility participates in "research, investigation or clinical trials" (this includes the EUA gene therapy), the person's access to care cannot be hindered if they refuse to participate. How many patients are being denied access to care because they choose to not take the EUA procedure, AKA the CCP vaccine? There is also language about "receiving care in a safe setting", "being free from all forms of abuse or harassment", comply with HIPAA (vaccine passports violate this). File your complaint here: HSQAComplaintIntake@doh.wa.gov
Employees have rights in Washington state. Go to L&I https://www.lni.wa.gov/ Look under Worker's Rights on the website. Chose both the discrimination and safety hazard categories, & complete those forms. The discrimination is pretty obvious, but it is also a safety hazard. OSHA sets standards for atmospheric oxygen levels. Wearing a mask of any kind all day, without removing it interferes with atmospheric oxygen. OSHA states:
The rulemaking record for the Respiratory Protection Standard clearly justifies adopting the requirement that air breathed by employees must have an oxygen content of at least 19.5 percent. A lesser concentration of oxygen in employees' breathing air could endanger them physiologically and diminish their ability to cope with other hazards that may be present in the workplace. The rulemaking record also demonstrates that any workplace atmosphere controlled at or near your recommended minimal oxygen level of 100 mm of mercury at sea level (equivalent to about 13 percent oxygen at sea level) is not safe and healthful for all employees. Exposing employees to partial pressures of oxygen that approach 100 mm of mercury at sea level leaves them with no margin of safety from potentially debilitating effects, which could appear suddenly and without warning...At oxygen levels of 10 to 14 percent, faulty judgment, intermittent respiration, and exhaustion can be expected even with minimal exertion. Breathing air containing 6 to 10 percent oxygen results in nausea, vomiting, lethargic movements, and perhaps unconsciousness. Breathing air containing less than 6 percent oxygen produces convulsions, then apnea (cessation of breathing), followed by cardiac standstill. These symptoms occur immediately. Even if a worker survives the hypoxic insult, organs may show evidence of hypoxic damage, which may be irreversible
Watch the video. As nurses, we did not wear the procedure masks 100% of our day. They came off outside the patient rooms. What is being demonstrated is an earloop mask. The N95 mask fits tightly and restricts oxygen even more. Look for other videos. You'll find that what this individual demonstrates is accurate.
After completing the complaints at L&I, email the same complaint to
ESGeneral@Lni.wa.gov &/or call 1-360-902-5316 Because we are discussing medical facilities, a complaint about the quality of patient care is also garnered. Healthcare workers are being asked to leave the facility (wouldn't that make them more likely to come in contact with an infected person and bring those germs into the facility?). They are being deprived of oxygen which the body needs to survive. They are being deprived of nutrients, food and water, which is required for life, not to mention proper thinking. What about if the employee needs to take medications during the shift, or is a diabetic? File the EEOC complaint here at this website: https://www.usa.gov/.../equal-employment-opportunity...
Before you do, the EEOC doesn't usually do a good job representing the employee so hiring your own attorney is prudent before you complete your complaint (this firm came up during a web search and offers a free consultation http://www.eeoadvocates.com/).
State and federal civil rights laws are also violated in this scenario. Go ahead and file complaints. Focus on the wording "outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and later sexual orientation and gender identity" and "required equal access to public places and employment". Being able to sit and eat in the break room which is accessible to other employees is a right. Requiring you to eat outside in the rain and snow, or go without is not equal treatment. It is discriminatory and retalatory. Use the argument that you can go to a restaurant and eat with strangers without a mask while you are at the table so what makes this different? Aren't the other employees vaccinated? If so, then there should be no problem. Religious exemptions should not result in discriminatory or retaliatory behavior.
The ADA laws protect all medical exemptions. Any medical condition which prohibits the vaccine would be covered under ADA law, especially when it is resulting in discrimination in the workplace and in society. Here is the link to Washington's civil rights enforcement division https://www.atg.wa.gov/washington-laws-and-enforcement...Here is the link to the ADA complaint form https://www.ada.gov/filing_complaint.htm.
Here is the link to a webpage listing federal agencies who enforce civil rights: https://www.atg.wa.gov/federal-laws-and-enforcement-agencies
There are agencies at the local county and city which enforce civil rights. Use them. Fight back. Bury the employer in paperwork, complaints, and fines which require legal teams and high-up executives' time. Time is money and this will become costly. https://www.atg.wa.gov/local-laws-and-enforcement-agencies
An employer does NOT own the employee. The employee is NOT a slave. The employee has rights as a human being, an employee, and a patient. These rights, according to the US Consitution are God-given and cannot be removed. The Declaration of Independence refers to these rights as "equal" and "inalienable." Each person has the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." These rights are natural, they are part of each person, and we are born with those rights. No one or organization has the right to rule over another without the person's expressed consent. Being an employee is NOT consent to be ruled over. Governments are the greatest enemy to individual rights and freedom and that is where the Consitution comes into play. Here is a great link on equal and inalienable rights: docsoffreedom.org/student/readings/equal-and-inalienable-rights
Remember, the government and your employer derive their place of authority from the people who give them that authority. Both must work toward treating each person equally, including those who have chosen to refrain from the COVID vaccine. Every person's freedom depends on them being knowledgeable about their rights, brave enough to stand up for them, and maintain a sense of justice when the authority is being abused. .
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