DeSantis Floats Florida Law Against Vaccine-Related Firings

(Bloomberg) -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed a law to shield all workers from being fired for not getting Covid-19 vaccines, a day after Texas Governor Greg Abbott banned private companies from mandating the shots.

Speaking Tuesday in St. Pete Beach, Florida, DeSantis said he would contest the federal government’s plan to mandate vaccines for large private-sector businesses. 

DeSantis said he didn’t think he could “unilaterally” block employers from firing the unvaccinated using executive action, although he pledged to explore all options. Instead, he suggested that the Florida legislature would probably have to take the lead. 

“I think you need a law to be able to just say you shouldn’t be terminated for this reason,” the Republican said Tuesday.

DeSantis and Abbott are both potential Republican candidates for president, and have resisted mandates on vaccines and masks. Abbott, in an executive order issued on Monday, blocked any employer in Texas from mandating Covid-19 inoculations.

Both governors’ statements followed Democratic President Joe Biden’s escalation of a campaign to pressure private employers to impose vaccination mandates. He is requiring businesses with more than 100 workers to require Covid-19 shots or regular testing.

“Whether you’re working for the police department, the sheriff’s department, the fire department; whether you’re working for a small business, a large business, I don’t think you should be fired over these shots,” DeSantis said. 

Read more here: Texas Governor Blocks Vaccine Mandates by Private Employers

DeSantis has been a vocal opponent of Covid-19 vaccination requirements. In May, he signed legislation to ban so-called vaccine passports for consumers, triggering a legal showdown with the Florida-based cruise industry, one of the state’s top employers. In August, a federal court judge sided with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. in temporarily blocking the Florida law.

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