Des Moines, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds has signed the State of Iowa onto a lawsuit challenging one of the COVID-19 vaccination mandates President Biden has proposed.
Reynolds made her comments last week during a news conference inside a manufacturing plant in Adel. Iowa and nine other Republican-led states are challenging a requirement that workers employed by a company that’s a federal contractor be fully vaccinated. Reynolds says this requirement would affect one-fifth of the nation’s workforce.
Reynolds says thousands of Iowans would be forced to get a COVID shot against their wishes if the federal rule goes into effect. According to the lawsuit, most state agencies are technically federal contractors, so the vaccination requirement would force employees in Iowa’s state government to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Earlier this month, President Biden said vaccination mandates are a way to put the pandemic behind us and accelerate the country’s economic recovery.
Earlier Friday, Governor Reynolds signed a new law that lets workers facing the loss of a job over a vaccination mandate to claim a medical or religious exemption. The Iowa Association of Business and Industry calls the law misguided and says it means Iowa businesses are at risk of federal fines if they follow these new state regulations. The group says businesses will ultimately face higher taxes to cover the newly guaranteed unemployment benefits for workers who are fired for failing to get vaccinated.
