2023 -- H 6080 | |
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LC001915 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- COVID-19 VACCINATION MANDATE | |
PROHIBITED | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Roberts, Rea, Chippendale, Nardone, and Quattrocchi | |
Date Introduced: March 03, 2023 | |
Referred To: House Labor | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby |
2 | amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
3 | CHAPTER 99 |
4 | COVID-19 VACCINATION MANDATE PROHIBITED |
5 | 23-99-1. Title. |
6 | This chapter shall be known and cited as the “COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate |
7 | Prohibited”. |
8 | 23-99-2. Private employer COVID-19 vaccination mandates prohibited. |
9 | (a) A private employer may not impose a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for any full- |
10 | time, part-time, or contract employee without providing individual exemptions that allow an |
11 | employee to opt out of such requirement on the basis of medical reasons, including, but not limited |
12 | to, pregnancy or anticipated pregnancy, religious reasons, COVID-19 immunity, periodic testing, |
13 | and the use of employer-provided personal protective equipment. |
14 | (b) If an employer receives a completed exemption statement pursuant to this chapter, the |
15 | employer shall allow the employee to opt out of the employer’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. |
16 | (c) For purposes of this chapter, the term “COVID-19” means the novel coronavirus |
17 | identified as SARS-CoV-2, any disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, its viral fragments, or a virus |
18 | mutating therefrom; and all conditions associated with the disease which are caused by SARS- |
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1 | CoV-2, its viral fragments, or a virus mutating therefrom. |
2 | 23-99-3. Exemptions. |
3 | (a) To claim an exemption based on medical reasons, including, but not limited to, |
4 | pregnancy or anticipated pregnancy, the employee shall present to the employer an exemption |
5 | statement, dated and signed by a physician or a physician assistant, licensed by the department of |
6 | health, or an advanced practice registered nurse, licensed by the department of health, who has |
7 | examined the employee. The statement shall provide that, in the professional opinion of the |
8 | physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse, COVID-19 vaccination is not |
9 | in the best medical interest of the employee. The department of health shall adopt rules specifying |
10 | circumstances that are considered an anticipated pregnancy, including, but not limited to, a |
11 | maximum timeframe within which one anticipates pregnancy for the purpose of claiming an |
12 | exemption under this section. |
13 | (b) To claim an exemption based on religious reasons, the employee shall present to the |
14 | employer an exemption statement indicating that the employee declines COVID-19 vaccination |
15 | because of a sincerely held religious belief. |
16 | (c) To claim an exemption based on COVID-19 immunity, the employee shall present to |
17 | the employer an exemption statement demonstrating competent medical evidence that the employee |
18 | has immunity to COVID-19, documented by the results of a valid laboratory test performed on the |
19 | employee. The department of health shall adopt a standard for demonstrating competent medical |
20 | evidence of such immunity. |
21 | (d) To claim an exemption based on periodic testing, the employee shall present to the |
22 | employer an exemption statement indicating that the employee agrees to comply with regular |
23 | testing for the presence of COVID-19 at no cost to the employee. |
24 | (e) To claim an exemption based on employer-provided personal protective equipment, the |
25 | employee shall present to the employer an exemption statement indicating that the employee agrees |
26 | to comply with the employer’s reasonable written requirement to use employer-provided personal |
27 | protective equipment when in the presence of other employees or other persons. |
28 | (f) Employers shall use forms adopted by the department of health, or substantially similar |
29 | forms, for employees to submit exemption statements. |
30 | 23-99-4. Complaint. |
31 | (a) Any employee may file a complaint with the attorney general alleging that an exemption |
32 | has not been offered or has been improperly applied or denied in violation of the provisions of this |
33 | chapter. If the office of the attorney general investigates and finds that the exemption was not |
34 | offered or was improperly applied or denied, the attorney general shall notify the employer of the |
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1 | attorney general's determination and allow the employer the opportunity to cure the noncompliance. |
2 | (b) If an employer fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter and terminates an |
3 | employee based on a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, the terminated employee may file a |
4 | complaint with the office of the attorney general alleging that an exemption has not been offered |
5 | or has been improperly applied or denied, resulting in the employee’s termination. The office of |
6 | the attorney general shall conduct an investigation of the complaint filed by a terminated employee. |
7 | The investigation, at a minimum, shall determine whether the employer has imposed a COVID-19 |
8 | vaccination mandate. If the attorney general finds that an employee has been improperly |
9 | terminated, the attorney general shall impose an administrative fine not to exceed: |
10 | (1) For an employer with fewer than one hundred (100) employees, ten thousand dollars |
11 | ($10,000) per violation of this chapter. |
12 | (2) For an employer with one hundred (100) or more employees, fifty thousand dollars |
13 | ($50,000) per violation of this chapter. |
14 | (3) The attorney general shall not impose a fine on an employer that reinstates, prior to the |
15 | issuance of a final order, a terminated employee with back pay to the date that the complaint was |
16 | received by the office of the attorney general. |
17 | 23-99-5. Penalties. |
18 | (a) In determining the amount of fine to be levied for a violation, the attorney general may |
19 | consider any of the following factors: |
20 | (1) Whether the employer knowingly and willfully violated this chapter; |
21 | (2) Whether the employer has shown good faith in attempting to comply with the |
22 | requirements of this chapter; |
23 | (3) Whether the employer has taken any action to correct the violation; |
24 | (4) Whether the employer has previously been assessed a fine for violating the provisions |
25 | of this chapter; and |
26 | (5) Any other mitigating or aggravating factor that fairness and due process requires. |
27 | (b) All fines collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited into the general revenue |
28 | fund. |
29 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- COVID-19 VACCINATION MANDATE | |
PROHIBITED | |
*** | |
1 | This act would prohibit a private employer from mandating a COVID-19 vaccination upon |
2 | any full-time, part-time, or contract employee without providing individual exemptions that allow |
3 | an employee to opt out of such mandate on the basis of medical reasons, religious reasons, COVID- |
4 | 19 immunity, periodic testing, or the use of employer-provided person protective equipment. An |
5 | employer who violates this requirement, following an investigation by the attorney general’s office, |
6 | may be subject to fines of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation of employers employing |
7 | fewer than one hundred (100) employees, and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per violation of |
8 | employers employing one hundred (100) or more employees. |
9 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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