Craving Justice after a Wrongful ‘Covid’ Termination
Seattle, WA – November 3, 2023. Fired for not taking an experimental vaccine! Is this you? If so, you are like tens of thousands in the state of Washington alone. You have sustained financial injury and, likely, you’ve also experienced emotional trauma from being treated so wrongly, so callously and unfairly (often intimidated, harassed, and singled out & isolated).
When the Covid-19 ‘Plandemic’ emerged, many failed to notice, “history” was truly being made. For the first time ever, many employers all over Washington began demanding that their employees mask/test/vaccinate for this one disease (Covid) or get terminated from their jobs. A scheduled deadline (threat of punishment) was set and the countdown to job loss began. Pressured to vaccinate, many felt that they had no choice but to take the jab to keep their job. Those of us that refused were met with the kind of pressure and bullying of which we had never seen before – we were blamed for others’ health issues, we were separated physically, shamed and ridiculed, and we were kicked out of establishments. Getting fired for no good reason was just the end stage of a traumatic experience for such vaccine refusers.
Those of us, like the folks at Washington Civil Rights Council (“WCRC”), who like to do our own legal research, didn’t have to look too far to find out that these workplace Covid mandates were not only unorthodox but entirely unlawful for multiple reasons. The Law states, it is unlawful and considered as “coercion” to lure someone into an experimental medical procedure through either reward or punishment. “Where there is RISK, there must be CHOICE”.
Legal Desert for Covid-19 cases
It only makes sense that someone fired unfairly over a personal medical choice may want to seek justice through legal help. Law firms were either not returning phone calls or stating they would not be taking Covid cases.
Were these employers going to get away with their horrid ‘jab or job’ medical policies? Would employers be allowed to prescribe experimental biologics?
When it came to seeking some timely justice, for most individuals the choice came down to fight on your own or give up and comply. However, fighting on your own (Pro Se) meant entering the “Legal Realm” alone, something that seemed insurmountable without help. People finding themselves in this position often ask themselves, “Do I even have a chance against some company’s lawyer, And where would I even start?”
Yes, you can win Pro Se!
Fortunately for those in Washington State, Washington Civil Rights Council was formed in 2020. At WCRC, we realized early on that “in health” the law is on your side. By law, your body is regarded as your property and you have certain inalienable property and privacy rights. WCRC is a membership organization that not only demystifies the Pro Se process but can also help in any stage of the legal battle. WCRC provides useful templates, as well as input from seasoned lawyers to build the strategy you need to find justice.
WCRC has focused on specifically Wrongful Terminations due to Covid 19 workplace mandates. The benefit of this is that the ‘Jab or Job’ circumstances are so similar from case to case that the same four to five common causes of action (laws being broken) apply and the legal templates can be re-used almost verbatim varying just the individual facts and the amount of damages being requested.
So you are ready to go Pro Se (self-represented), now what?
It is a good idea to get familiar with the sequence of the legal process (the lay of the land), some key vocabulary and also to understand the core legal argument you will be presenting. So here is a very brief overview of the three things mentioned above
1. Legal Process. There are essentially four phases. First phase is the steps to have your case formally opened. You will create a Claim (complaint) and a Summons and a Cover Sheet and these documents are filed with the court. Then you serve process, which means you deliver the claim and the Summons on the Defendant. Your lawsuit is now alive. The next step called Pleadings is where the other side responds to your claim and you also get another response. After Pleadings, the third and most time consuming phase is called Discovery, where both sides get to ask each other for information pertinent to the case to gather evidence. The last phase is either a trial in court or (much more frequently) a Settlement negotiation. 95% of cases do not go to trial, instead they end with a Settlement.
2. Key vocabulary. There are many online resources to absorb legal terms and their meanings. What you should know is that he who initiates a lawsuit is the Plaintiff and the other side is the Defense. Another key concept is Causes of Action as this is at the heart of your lawsuit. A Cause of Action says here is a law that exists and it has been broken. Damages or Remedy is the final term to share. In your complaint, you are always asking for either damages or remedy for the insult/injury you have suffered. Damages is what you receive when you win your lawsuit.
3. Core argument. In the Covid-19 era, our basic core argument is that experimental medicine cannot be mandated and so any such employment policy is unlawful, regardless of At-Will employment terms. We provide some legal statutes to support this. It’s helpful to understand and embrace your core argument.
Settlement
We mentioned above that 95% of cases never go to trial (before a judge) and are settled instead. So if you are a Pro Se litigant and have a solid case, the other side will often go straight to negotiating a settlement. They might trade some emails with you first to test you or try to scare you. Once they see you are serious and prepared, with evidence, they will stop playing games and will move decisively to close the case. Lawyers are heavily motivated to settle because a) Judges will literally scoff at them if they go to trial with a weak case. (Judges always ask in a pre-trial meeting, what efforts have taken place to settle) and b) because the last thing a Defendant wants is to go to court and have their dirty laundry and wrongdoing on record. Once you are in court, it can all be publicized. For this very reason, most settlements include a confidentiality provision.
The Dirty Tricks against Pro Se Litigants
Having worked with a number of cases now, with positive outcomes, we have seen trends in terms of what the lawyers for the defense do in an attempt to “rattle” you or dislodge the case. Some of our favorites are below:
o Diversion – This is when they argue about something outside the actual core argument. For example they start calling you an anti-vaxxer when your main argument is that their policy was unlawful. Your being pro- or anti-vax is irrelevant.
o Demoralization – This is where they try to make you feel legally inadequate. For example one of our litigants was told his damage request was too high because he “didn’t try hard enough to get re-employed.”
o The Silent Treatment – This one is unusual but not uncommon with Pro Se. The other side will literally go silent to see if you know what to do next and how to compel forward movement (by filling a Motion).
o Fear and Intimidation – This is probably the most common tactic where the lawyers for the other side make you question the validity of your lawsuit and also scare you with consequences. They will write or say “you don’t have a real claim here, your argument won’t hold up in court, etc…” At the same time they will throw in, “we are going to counter sue. You are going to lose and then you will owe our legal fees.” In the end these statements are empty and just meant to scare you.
Once you see these tactics for what they are, they are easily overcome and this is where an organization like WCRC is massively helpful and you are well on your way to “JUSTICE” being done!!
For more information:
Contact Dan Webster, Washington Civil Rights Council at [email protected]
or visit website at WCRC.us.