County discusses federal COVID vaccine mandate

     There was some serious discussion during the Nov. 9 Jones County Supervisor meeting regarding OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard concerning COVID-19.

     It was announced in early November nationwide that employers with more than 100 employees would either have to enforce vaccinations or require weekly COVID testing.

     County Auditor Whitney Hein brought the news to the board’s attention, noting that the federal government has given employers until Jan. 4 to comply. Hein said she already reached out for guidance from the county’s HR director, Mike Galloway.

     “How does this affect us as a county?” proposed Hein.

     However, Hein noted that a federal judge has blocked the mandate, but the county still needs to be prepared to comply.

     “I’m not sure how long that will be in effect for,” she said of the block.

     If you include elected officials, full- and part-time staff, seasonal, and part-time employees, Jones County has just over 150 employees.

     “Last pay period, we cut 143 checks,” reported Hein. “We’ll never be below 100.

     “But I wanted you to be aware and do your own research,” Hein continued in her discussion with the board. “Our office will enact whatever you decide.”

     With the Jan. 4 deadline, Hein did comment that she felt it was a short turnaround.

     “The governor did file a lawsuit,” she said. “There’s just a lot going on. But we need to put the employees on notice.”

     Supervisor Jeff Swisher said he was 100 percent against the county enacting a vaccine mandate.

     “We could lose employees with a mandate,” he warned. “It’s time to take a stand and push back.”

     “It should be their choice,” added Supervisor John Schlarmann of the employees. “I don’t want to make anyone do anything.”

     Supervisor Ned Rohwedder suggested the county should look into legal exemptions, medical exemptions, and whether a doctor’s excuse is valid.

     Supervisor Joe Oswald indicated that no one was mandating anything at the moment.

     “We’re just discussing this and not making any decisions at this point,” he said of the rush to judgment. “Mike (Galloway) will be a valuable source to listen to when making a decision.”

     “There are a lot of unknowns, too,” added Hein. She said if her office is asked to oversee the mandate, there will be a lot of preparation.

     Susan Yario, veterans affairs administrator, asked who would be in charge of administering the weekly COVID tests for those employees who are not vaccinated.

     “It would be up to the employee to submit to the employer,” Hein answered. “There will be a lot of documents to keep track of.”

     Yario did leave the board with copies of Iowa House File 902, the governor and legislature’s opposition to a vaccine requirement by employers.

     With this being a federal mandate, Supervisor Jon Zirkelbach commented, “The folks of Jones County elected me, not someone outside of this county. I’ll follow the lead of Jones County.”

In other county business:

     • The board approved the final plat for Buffalo Commercial Park, a subdivision in Fairview Township.

     Land Use Administrator Michele Lubben noted there were initially four lots, but they were changed to three, all with direct access to Buffalo Road through easements.

     “Each lot has existing structures,” she said.

     In addition, portions of each lot were previously in a flood plain. With the new county flood maps, that is no longer the case.