California Democrats, businesses back proposal to encourage COVID vaccine requirements
California Democrats are planning to introduce a bill that would protect employers who require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and lawmakers already have support from the state’s most powerful business lobbyists.
The exact language for Assembly Bill 1102 has not been published, but a circulating draft shows the measure would establish legal protections for employers who mandate the vaccine for their workers or require them to be regularly tested for COVID-19. The proposal aims to deter lawsuits from employees or job applicants who might seek to file discrimination claims against businesses with COVID-19 vaccine rules.
An urgency clause is attached to the draft bill, meaning author Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, will need a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Legislature before a Sept. 10 end-of-session deadline to get the proposal in front of Gov. Gavin Newsom. The draft language could also change before the bill is formally introduced.
“In order to avoid further shutdowns and prevent the health care system from becoming overwhelmed due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as soon as possible, it is critical that employers be able to impose reasonable requirements that their eligible employees get vaccinated against COVID-19,” the draft bill language reads.
The draft includes exemptions for employees with disabilities or religious beliefs that prevent them from getting vaccines.
The measure would have to be modified through the so-called “gut and amend” process, or when lawmakers essentially create a new bill without having to start the entire legislative process from scratch.
So far, the coalition backing the bill includes some of the most high-profile and powerful business organizations in the state, including the California Chamber of Commerce.
In a Wednesday support letter to Low, dozens of organizations said “encouraging vaccination is necessary to reopening California’s economy and protecting our workers.”
The business groups wrote that although current federal COVID-19 guidance says it’s legal to mandate the vaccine as a condition of employment, “some employers are hesitant to require vaccination out of fear of litigation.”
“AB 1102 will eliminate any ambiguity about an employer’s right to mandate vaccines by codifying the guidance issued” by federal and state agencies, “and confirming that it is legal under California law to require vaccination if an employer so chooses.”
Representatives for the hotel, wine, craft beer, restaurant and agriculture industries also signed on to the letter.
Low declined to comment.
Last week, Democrats introduced legislation to require people to prove they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter indoor businesses and force workers to either get the shots or be regularly tested. But that proposal, Assembly Bill 455, is dead for the year. Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, pledged to reintroduce it in January and continue holding negotiations with stakeholders from both the business and labor communities.
Lawmakers have argued that the delta variant has made it more difficult for California to return to pre-pandemic operations, and that vaccines are the best tool available to combat disease and death.
Wicks is also a co-author of AB 1102, along with Democratic Assemblywoman Akilah Weber and Sens. Dave Min, Josh Newman, Richard Pan and Scott Wiener, according to the draft proposal.
Low now has a week and a half to whip votes for AB 1102, which would go into immediate effect if signed by Newsom by Oct. 10.
Anti-vaccine groups in California are already rallying against the proposal. A protest is scheduled to take place on Sept. 8 at the Capitol to block AB 1102.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "California Democrats, businesses back proposal to encourage COVID vaccine requirements."