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The individual names and vaccination statuses of some 40,000 Oregon state employees were mistakenly released to two newspapers, which a labor union is saying breaches an agreement reached with the state last month assuring that the private medical information would remain confidential, according to a report.
The privacy breach reportedly happened Monday, the same day as Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate deadline for all state employees. Since the governor issued the order in August, The Oregonian/Oregon Live has requested daily information from Brown’s administration on vaccination rates and vaccine exemption rates for each executive branch agency the governor oversees.
But Oregon Department of Administrative Services External Relations Director Adam Crawford reportedly emailed a file to The Oregonian/OregonLive and the Salem Statesman Journal with a spreadsheet listing the name of each executive branch employee and their vaccination status.
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Crawford later told The Oregonian sending that information was a "mistake." Neither Brown’s office, Crawford, not others at the Oregon Department of Administrative Services have returned a Fox News Digital request for comment Tuesday.
The Oregonian/OregonLive said it was making the editorial decision not to publish the names and vaccination statuses of the individual employees provided to them in the spreadsheet.
SEUI 503, a 72,000-member union representing employees at 85 different state, local government and non-profit agencies and care facilities, said the release of the information Monday violates an agreement reached with the state in September requiring vaccination information be kept confidential.
"[What’s] more concerning is that one of the main things that we heard from members who were vaccine hesitant is they were concerned about their privacy in this situation," SEUI 503 spokesman Ben Morris told The Oregonian. "This is a breach of trust at the worst possible time."
The union is still weighing what action to take. Under the agreement reached in September, state employees were required to receive at least one dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 or submit a written request for exception by Oct. 18 to "avoid personnel action." Employees who had begun, but not completed the vaccination process by Monday have until November 30, 2021 to become fully vaccinated. Per the agreement, employees will be expected to work remotely between Oct. 18 and the point of full vaccination status.
According to the latest data set, Oregon State Police and the Department of Corrections have both approved religious exemption requests at a higher rate compared to other Oregon state agencies. Just 74% of Oregon State Police have confirmed vaccination status, and 70% of Department of Corrections employees have confirmed they are vaccinated for COVID-19.
News of the release comes after a federal judge on Monday denied a last-minute bid by more than three dozen state employees, health care providers and school staff to temporarily stop the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon rejected their motion for a temporary restraining order, marking the first federal judge’s ruling after several state court decisions thwarting similar efforts to block Gov. Brown’s and the Oregon Health Authority’s power to require that certain workers to get the vaccines or risk losing their jobs.
At least 10 vaccine mandate challenges have been filed in state and federal court since September. Among the 42 plaintiffs are nurses, doctors, teachers and school athletic coaches, including a LifeFlight paramedic, a hospice nurse, dental hygienist and pharmacist.
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"In the middle of a global pandemic while infections and hospitalizations continue at high rates, Plaintiffs are not likely to succeed in showing that their individual interests in remaining unvaccinated outweigh the State’s interest in public health and welfare," the judge wrote in a 55-page opinion.
The judge found the plaintiffs failed to show they will be irreparably harmed by the vaccine mandate. While he said some state employees may face firing for failure to be vaccinated, he added that "it’s still only money," and they can get their job back or pay reinstated if they prevail in the case at a later point.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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