|
 Governor Ron DeSantis, a right-wing Republican widely believed to be
planning a run for the U.S. presidency, signed the new laws in a
community called Brandon, the same name used as a euphemism for a
coarse epithet in a chant against Democratic President Joe Biden.
"We’re making sure that people have a right to earn a living, people
have a right to have protections at their place of employment and
that parents have protections to be able to direct the upbringing of
their kids," said DeSantis.
In a later announcement of the bills' signing on Twitter, DeSantis
referred to "the free state of Florida."
Echoing anti-vaccine rhetoric, DeSantis repeated a misleading claim
that vaccines do not protect against coronavirus infections, and
said "natural immunities" should qualify people to return to
in-person work.
The bills drew immediate condemnation from public health officials
and Democratic leaders.
"Gee," California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on Twitter. "What
could go wrong..."
The bills were passed in a three-day special session of the
Republican-dominated Florida legislature called by DeSantis with the
goal of thwarting coronavirus vaccine mandates imposed by the
federal government as well as by private employers and school
districts.
The laws allow employers to ask employees to become vaccinated, but
also require them to allow people to opt out for religious, health
and other reasons. People who previously had COVID-19 would be
exempt despite evidence the vaccines provide greater protection
against reinfection as well as serious cases that require
hospitalization.
[to top of second column] |
 Employers who refuse to allow
the exemptions can be fined up to $50,000 per
violation. The new laws also ban government
entities from requiring vaccinations. Schools
districts may not require vaccinations or ask
teachers and students to wear masks.
The laws also ban school districts from
requiring otherwise healthy students who have
been exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine before
returning to class.
The legislature also directed the governor's
office to develop a plan to set up the state's
own agency for the protection of workers, which
would replace the authority of the federal
Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Florida is among several conservative states
suing the federal agency to stop it from
enforcing the Biden administration's vaccine
mandate.
About 61,000 people have died from COVID-19 in
Florida, the third-most-populous U.S. state,
although new cases have decreased dramatically
there in recent weeks as the summer surge ebbed.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento,
California; Editing by Peter Cooney)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
 |
