Sunshine Sentinel

Legislators in the Florida House and Senate entered a special session where they passed legislation attempting to curb President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate across the state and stopping employers from enforcing vaccine requirements in their businesses.

Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted Nov. 15, ahead of the passage on the third day of the legislative session. 

“We value our first responders in Florida & we will not let heavy-handed mandates force them out of their jobs. The Legislature is working to pass a bill this week that will provide protections for all Floridians. Nobody should be forced to choose between a jab and their job,” DeSantis wrote in his tweet. 

There were four proposed bills, none of which proposed a full ban on vaccine mandates, though House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 would force employers to allow for medical and religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate where applicable, CBS 12 reported. This would also allow workers exemptions by opting to wear a mask or providing frequent COVID-19 tests.

The proposed laws will also prevent schools from enforcing the vaccine on students, CBS 12 reported. A report by Wink News stated Republican legislators are also poised to win a battle pulling Florida out of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an aspect of the U.S. Department of Labor that sets the standards for safe and healthy work environments. 

The changes are intended to stop an overreach Republican lawmakers claim Biden made when he mandated the vaccine in companies with at least 100 employees. A News 4 report Nov. 17 stated the Senate voted 24-14 along party lines to give final approval just hours after the House passed the bill.