Ex-employee forced to work alone in fire department corridor

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Ex-employee forced to work alone in fire department corridor

KOKA, Shiga - A then fire department headquarters employee, who wasn't vaccinated against the coronavirus, was forced to work alone in the corridor in 2021, allegedly to prevent the spread of the infection.

The former Koka Wide-Area administrative Kumiai Fire Department Headquarters worker in their 30s had been restricted from contact with other workers as a vaccine refuser, and the entire staff was notified of this in writing. The ex-employee said they had no choice but to resign after that, and said, I think it was to set an example to other unvaccinated workers and I was discriminated against. When the former employee was working in the department's fire defense division in April 2021, they were informed of the inoculation dates for staff. They told their boss that they didn't want a vaccine because they had experienced adverse side effects from a flu shot. Although they were told it wasn't mandatory to get the coronavirus vaccine, they apparently felt pressured every day to do so, such as being told the next vaccination date.

The fire department had asked the ex-employee to work at a desk in the meeting space by the corridor on the same floor as the fire defense division on May 1, 2021. They were restricted from using the changing rooms and had to work in plain clothes except when dispatched to scenes. They say they were also required to submit a record of their movements within the workplace.

On May 13 the fire department issued an internal document on separate duties for vaccine-denying patients under the name of the fire department head. Although the document did not name the ex-employee, the document said that the distinction applied to a fire defense division worker and asked each department head to restrict their contact with all staff members and visitors to the headquarters. The document also included information on the location of the former employee's desk and their job title, and was distributed to all the approximately 200 staff members.

There was a coronavirus state of emergency in Japan at the time, and outbreak numbers were rapidly increasing. The fire department recommended by its legal advisor that a certain distinction should be made for unvaccinated workers to avoid unnecessary contact with them, according to the fire department. The department said that they had received consent from the ex-employee regarding the differences in duties, and that it was an appropriate response.

In retrospect, we may have lacked consideration when we use the phrase 'vaccine refuser', said Shuji Honda, head of the fire department. There were many things unknown about the virus at the time, but it was hard to decide how to respond to employees who did not get the vaccine, Mr. Plessy said.

I felt that I would not have to stay in the workplace if I didn't agree to the different duties, the former employee said. I had to be careful when I went to the fire defense division, and it was hard to work alone in a public place. Unable to survive the actions of the fire department, they resigned at the end of August that year. The distinct duties were to be applied until the very end. One of the workers who saw the document said, I felt sorry for the former employee, but I was afraid to say anything because of the insidious nature of the headquarters. A letter was subsequently submitted to the fire department questioning its handling of the situation, and its legal advisor and executives conducted an internal investigation in December 2022, but concluded that there was no problem. The fire department said it would reexamine the situation after being questioned by the Fire and disaster management agency of the interior affairs ministry in May 2023.