As of November 18, 2021, Governor Ron Desantis of Florida has passed legislation making it illegal for private employers to mandate employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 unless certain individual exemptions are made available to the employee.
The exemptions an employee can utilize are as follows:
- Medical – this only includes pregnancy or anticipated pregnancy. Employees must present an exemption statement dated and signed by a physician.
- Religion – employees must present an exemption statement indicating that the employee declines vaccination due to a sincerely held religious belief.
- COVID-19 Immunity – employees must present an exemption statement demonstrating competent medical evidence that the employee has immunity to COVID-19, documented by the results of a valid laboratory test performed on the employee.
- Periodic Testing – employees must present to the employer an exemption statement indicating that the employee agrees to comply with regular testing for the presence of COVID-19 at no cost to the employee.
- Personal protective equipment – the employee must present to the employer an exemption statement indicating that the employee agrees to comply with the employer’s reasonable written requirement to use employer-provided personal protective equipment when in the presence of other employees or other persons.
An employee is allowed to file a complaint with the Department of Legal Affairs alleging that an exemption has not been offered or has been improperly applied or denied. Employers at this time will have an opportunity to “cure” the situation before recourse. Financial penalties will occur if additional complaints are filed.
Regarding unemployment specifically, an employee’s refusal to be vaccinated will not be considered misconduct, and benefits will not be denied if an employee is discharged on this basis.
What does this mean for employers in Florida?
Given Florida’s change to legislation determining that an employee’s refusal to be vaccinated will not be considered misconduct. Benefits will not be denied, and it is assumed that employers should consider alternative methods to discharging employees based on vaccination status.
If you have additional questions, please contact your Experian Employer Services Account Executive.
