Sponsor
Andrew S. Biggs
Representative · R-AZ
Representative · R-AZ
The bill protects individuals' and organizations' ability to avoid workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandates tied to federal relief funds, but does so at the risk of lower workplace vaccination, increased public-health risks, and financial or operational strain for entities that choose to keep mandates.
Employees (including healthcare and federal workers) are protected from employer-imposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates when their employer received federal COVID relief, preserving individual choice over vaccination at workplaces that took relief funds.
Small businesses and public entities (state and local governments) that decline to require COVID-19 vaccination can retain their federal COVID relief funds, avoiding loss of federal support for organizations that opt out of mandates.
Employees, patients, and urban communities could face higher COVID-19 transmission and health risks if the law reduces workplace vaccination rates.
State and local governments and hospitals that followed public-health guidance may be forced to choose between maintaining public-safety vaccine policies and keeping federal COVID relief funds, creating a conflict between safety and funding.
Employers (especially small businesses and health systems) that keep vaccine mandates risk having to repay federal COVID relief funds, creating financial strain or potential closures for some organizations.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars entities that received funds under specified COVID relief laws from imposing COVID‑19 vaccine mandates on employees and requires violators to return the relief funds.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Prohibits any entity that received federal COVID‑19 relief funds from imposing a COVID‑19 vaccine mandate on its employees, and requires any entity that violates that prohibition to return the COVID relief funds to the federal government. The bill defines “COVID relief package” to include six named COVID relief statutes, so the restriction would apply to recipients of funds made available under those laws.