SALEM, Ore. – Oregon’s judges and courthouse staff will soon be required to be vaccinated. The news came down via a new Chief Justice order late Thursday afternoon.
The order from Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters requires unvaccinated judges and staff to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before October 1st. It provides exceptions for those unable to be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons. Regular testing will be required for those who remain unvaccinated after the deadline.
The chief justice said hospitals are overrun and “action is necessary to provide the protection we need and to keep our courts open and safe.”
She sent the following statement to all judicial department employees:
Since the pandemic arrived in early 2020, each of you has joined in the massive effort necessary to keep our courts open and safe. Recently, I asked all of you to take another step necessary to keep our courts open and safe: I asked you to get vaccinated against COVID-19, unless you were unable to do so for medical or religious reasons. I asked you to take that step because the services we provide are essential to our communities and our democracy, and vaccination is the best tool we have to both keep our courts COVID-free and allow us to continue to serve the public.
I asked, rather than ordered, because I wanted our judicial branch to come together, voluntarily, for the common good. I asked judges, trial court administrators, and division directors in the Office of the State Court Administrator (OSCA) to share information with you about the benefits of vaccination—thankfully, many of you responded. Impressively, many of our courts and OSCA divisions now have vaccination rates of more than 90%. I applaud your willingness to listen, to engage, and to act. Thank you.
Unfortunately, though, the overall response has not been sufficient to adequately protect our judges, staff, and members of the public from this virus. Statewide, about 14% of our judges and staff have not yet received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In some courts, less than half of the staff are vaccinated, and some have told us that they will get vaccinated only if mandated to do so.
Recent information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that those who are unvaccinated are 5 times more likely to be infected with COVID-19 and 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19. In Oregon, 44.5% of our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds are occupied by COVID-positive patients, and the Oregon Health & Science University reported this week that 97% of those patients were not fully vaccinated. Oregon currently has only 48 ICU beds that are not occupied, and the number of children diagnosed with COVID is increasing rapidly.
We also have experienced significant disruptions in our court operations – judges and staff have become ill or have had to quarantine due to COVID exposure. Although people who are vaccinated can still contract COVID and be subject to quarantine requirements, vaccination greatly reduces the risk and severity of the disease and the length of the quarantine.
After much thought and consultation, I have determined that further action is necessary to provide the protection we need and to keep our courts open and safe: I have issued a new Chief Justice Order (CJO), CJO 21-039, that requires unvaccinated judges and staff to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before October 1. The CJO provides exceptions for those who are unable to be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons, and requires regular testing for those who remain unvaccinated after the deadlines set out in CJO. Additional specifics are provided in the CJO and in the newly amended personnel policy, Temporary Policy During COVID-19 Related Restrictions on Court Operations.
Making this decision to order vaccinations has been very difficult. I understand that some judges or staff may choose to leave employment with OJD rather than become vaccinated against COVID-19. I hope that that will not happen. Each of you has shown dedication, resilience, and care since the pandemic arrived, and I want to assure you that, whatever you decide, you will receive the pandemic recognition pay for which you are eligible. Still, I hope that those of you who are not yet vaccinated, but who are able to be vaccinated, will act within the time allowed, so that we can focus, together, on providing the justice services that Oregonians deserve.
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