Missouri bill would limit public employer vaccine mandates
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Lawmakers in Missouri on Monday introduced a bill that would make COVID-19 vaccine mandates “unenforceable” by public employers and make employers liable for “medical treatment” injuries under workers compensation.
H.B. 1686 states that “No public body … political subdivision, public school district, state department or agency, public official, peace officer, or any person appointed by the governor acting in an official and public capacity under such appointment” shall require any person to receive a COVID-19 vaccination; or impose “any fine, tax, or criminal or civil penalty, or condition any personal right or public service, based on whether an individual has received a COVID-19 vaccination.”
The bill states that provisions “shall not apply to health facilities or public colleges and universities where a COVID-19 vaccination is required for employees or select student participants or in order for the colleges or universities to receive federal funds or for a facility to participate in a federal program or contract but shall be construed to prohibit a general requirement that students receive a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of enrollment.”
The bill also includes exemptions for medical reasons and a “sincerely held religious belief that forbids the employee from receiving the medical treatment” if “the reasonable accommodation of such belief would not pose an undue hardship on the employer.”
Under the proposal, an employee whose rights are violated would be eligible for workers comp “to address any injuries sustained as a result of the employer's requirement for medical treatment.”
