6. California lawmakers attempted to mandate vaccines

Vaccine mandates were a pandemic mainstay that made headlines early this year amid widespread efforts to force employees to get vaccinated.  

When California lawmakers on Feb. 9 introduced a bill that would require both public and private employers to enforce a vaccine mandate for employees, the article was the sixth most read workers compensation-related story this year on Business Insurance’s website.

A.B. 1993, which failed to gain traction outside committee, stated that “an employer shall require each employee or independent contractor to provide proof to the employer, or an authorized agent thereof, that the person has been vaccinated against COVID-19.”

By mid-May, the issue appeared to be waning, as indicated in a survey that found employer interest in COVID-19 vaccine mandates had dwindled as federal efforts to institute broader mandates failed.

The survey of 1,275 in-house lawyers, C-suite executives and human resources professionals, conducted by employment law firm Littler Mendelson PC in March, found 56% said their companies would not implement mandates or testing unless required by law.

Late in the year Washington state lawmakers pre-filed for 2023 legislation that would re-hire state workers fired over not getting vaccinated.

No. 7 most read story