Statewide Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds will sign a bill that outlines how workers may claim a religious or medical exemption from a private employer’s COVID vaccination mandate, without a doctor or cleric signing off on the document.
The bill that passed the House and Senate Thursday with bipartisan support also says workers are eligible for unemployment if they’re fired for failing to get vaccinated. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, says it’s a partial answer to looming federal vaccination mandates.
Representative Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City, says there are fast-approaching deadlines for Iowans faced with taking a vaccination they don’t agree with or getting fired. “We needed to take this action now,” Stone says. “January will be too late for Iowans. That’s why we have to act today.” Democrats who voted for the bill said they did so to ensure Iowans who lose their jobs get unemployment. But Senator Tony Bisignano a Democrat from Des Moines, voted for the bill, but accused Republicans of trying to buy off Iowans who don’t want to get a COVID shot.
Business groups say the bill puts Iowa businesses in the terrible position of trying to figure out if they must follow state or federal regulations when it comes to COVID vaccinations among employees. Representative Steve Hanson, a Democrat from Sioux City, says Republicans had months to craft a bill and would up with a bill that creates too many unanswered questions.
Opponents of vaccine mandates who rallied at the Capitol Thursday called the bill unacceptable. Representative Jeff Shipley, a Republican from Fairfield, says while there is more work to do on the issue, the bill is a good first step. “There are people in Illinois, in New York and in every other Democratic cesspool in the United States that would love to have these legal protections,” Shipley says. Governor Reynolds says she’s committed to doing more on the topic. Last week the governor said she may join a lawsuit challenging federal COVID vaccine mandates.
