Governor DeSantis Announces Legislative Agenda for Special Session

Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by Florida Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson to announce the legislative agenda for a special session of the Florida Legislature that will meet next week to Protect Florida Jobs.

“No cop, no firefighter, no nurse, nobody should be losing their job because of these jabs – we must stand up for people and protect their jobs and livelihoods. What the federal government is doing is wrong. It is wrong to kick people out of work; it is wrong to try to micromanage businesses; and it is wrong to deprive key industries of people that we need. Most importantly, what they are doing is unconstitutional and we have a responsibility to stand up for the constitution and protect Floridians. I called a special session of the Florida Legislature to address this, and today I am proud to roll out our agenda to Protect Florida Jobs. These may be the strongest protections for both private and public-sector employees anywhere in the country. I want to thank Speaker Sprowls and President Simpson for stepping up to make this possible.” - Governor Ron DeSantis

During a special session next week, the Florida Legislature will stand up to protect Florida jobs:

Private Employer COVID-19 vaccine mandates are prohibited
If employers do have a vaccine policy, then they must afford the following exceptions:

Employees with health or religious concerns are exempt from any vaccine requirements,
Pregnant women or women who anticipate pregnancy are exempt,
Employees who have recovered from COVID-19 are exempt,
Employers must provide ALL EMPLOYEES the option to choose periodic COVID-19 testing or PPE as an alternative to vaccine requirements (at no cost to employees) – test frequency to be determined by the Florida Department of Health.

Employers who violate these employee health protections will be fined:

Small businesses (99 employees or less) will face $10,000 per employee violation,
Medium and big businesses will face $50,000 per employee violation,
Government entities may not require COVID-19 vaccinations of anyone, including employees.

The Florida Legislature will also stand up to protect Florida families:

Educational institutions may not require students to be COVID-19 vaccinated,
School districts may not require students to wear face masks,
School districts may not quarantine healthy students,
Students and parents may sue violating school districts and recover costs and attorney’s fees.