Sponsor
Andrew S. Biggs
Representative · R-AZ
Representative · R-AZ
The bill protects individual and organizational choice to avoid employer COVID-19 vaccine mandates and retain federal relief funds, but raises public-health risks and financial, legal, and administrative burdens for employers and public entities.
Employees of entities that received federal COVID relief (including healthcare and federal workers) are protected from employer-imposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Entities that decline to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates (small businesses, state and local governments, hospitals) can retain federal COVID relief funds without penalty.
Employees, patients, and communities may face higher COVID-19 health risks because the bill could reduce workplace vaccination rates.
Employers that maintain vaccine mandates could be required to repay federal COVID relief funds, creating financial risk (including possible closures) for small businesses and health systems.
Public entities that followed public-health guidance may be forced to choose between keeping public-safety policies and retaining federal relief funds.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits recipients of specified COVID relief statutes from imposing employee COVID‑19 vaccine mandates and requires repayment of relief funds if violated.
Official title: To prohibit any entity that receives Federal funds from the COVID relief packages from mandating employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Prohibits any entity that received specified federal COVID‑19 relief funds from imposing COVID‑19 vaccine mandates on its employees and requires any entity that violates the prohibition to return the COVID relief funds to the federal government. The law lists six federal COVID relief statutes whose recipients are covered and defines “COVID relief package” to include those specific laws.