Nov 18, 12:18pm
The Republican governor signed four bills on Thursday that will restrict public and private employers from imposing Covid-19 measures.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a school.
The Associated Press.
The bills that came out of the special session were passed by the state legislature on Wednesday and will go to the governor.
The final bill passed by the legislature requires private companies to adopt more exemptions to any vaccine requirements, such as "pregnancy or anticipated pregnancy," a prior Covid-19 infection, regular testing or using personal.
Any employer that doesn't comply with the law will be subject to a fine of $10,000 per employee if they have fewer than 100 workers and $50,000 per violation if they have more than 100, and a separate bill makes any investigations into businesses accused of violating the law private until they are completed.
The bill strengthens the prohibition on school mask mandates by stating only parents can make that decision and blocking a student from attending school if they have been exposed to Covid-19.
A bill that was passed in response to the Biden administration's directive for all large employers to impose vaccine-or-test mandates, done through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), directed the state to pull out of it by January.
The power of the state Surgeon General to mandate vaccinations was stripped from them by the fourth bill, which was passed in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
We hear a lot about these things tearing people down. The vaccine mandate bill is the strongest piece of legislation that has been enacted in the country against vaccine requirements, according to the governor.
Surprising fact.
The bills were signed at a Honda dealership in Brandon, Florida, which many took as a reference to the anti-Biden slogan. The location was chosen because of the rally cry, but it was not clear if that was the reason.
Chief critic.
The Republican-led legislature's proposals were mostly opposed by Democrats. Does this session make us safer? No, it doesn't. Does it address the problems of everyday Floridians? As the vaccine mandate bill was being debated, Democratic state Rep. Kamia Brown said absolutely not. Two years ago, we could only hope and pray for a vaccine, now we are politicizing something we should be celebrating.
We don't know what we don't know.
The federal government has a directive on how Florida restricts vaccine mandates. The vaccine requirements for federal contractors and healthcare facilities using Medicare and Medicaid are still in effect even though the OSHA mandate has been blocked in court. If the requirements are held up in court, that could cause a clash between the state and federal rules. Some major companies in Texas have already banned vaccine mandates because of the federal government's rules.
The key background.
The four bills signed into law are the latest in a series of steps taken by the Florida government to oppose Covid-19. The state has passed a number of measures, including prohibiting local governments from enforcing Covid-19 restrictions, blocking companies from requiring proof of vaccine, and imposing fines on employers who don't comply with the vaccine passport ban. The OSHA vaccine-or-test rule and the Biden administration's vaccine requirement for federal contractors have been sued by Florida. The high-profile Republican who may be eyeing a 2024 presidential bid has criticized the Biden administration's response to Covid-19, but has refused to say if he will get the vaccine.
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Coverage and live updates on the coronaviruses.
