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vaccine mandate

  • The South Carolina Senate has passed a bill that would ban businesses from refusing to serve people who haven't gotten the COVID-19 vaccine and prevent public employers from requiring the shots. The Senate approved the bill 29-12 on Wednesday. Senators made changes to a House bill which that chamber passed in December, meaning the proposal returns to the House to see if it accepts those changes. Senators initially put in a large unemployment tax penalty for private businesses that fired unvaccinated workers. But instead they compromised to allow fired workers to collect unemployment benefits, retroactive to the last nine months.
  • A bill to prevent private companies in South Carolina from firing employees who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine appears to be heading for a topsy-turvy showdown in the state House. Republicans who typically allow businesses to in the state have free rein are backing the hastily drafted proposal which will go from a subcommittee to the House floor in less than 48 hours. Business groups including the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce are asking lawmakers to oppose the bill and Democrats are joining them. The proposal also prevents COVID-19 vaccine mandates for state and local government employees, contractors and public school students.
  • A panel of South Carolina lawmakers advanced a proposal Tuesday to ban COVID-19 vaccine mandates for state and local government employees, contractors and public school students.
  • The attorneys general of 26 states have filed federal lawsuits challenging a vaccine mandate for employers issued by the Biden administration. They generally contend that the authority to compel vaccinations rests with the states, not the federal government. The new mandate applies to private employers with at least 100 workers. The Biden administration says it is confident its requirement will withstand the challenges, but legal experts are divided over which side is likely to prevail. Several businesses also joined the lawsuits filed Friday, saying they don't want to insert themselves into their employees' health care decisions.
  • Republican governors, lawmakers and attorneys general are forming a wall of opposition to President Joe Biden's plan to require vaccinations or COVID-19 testing at all private employers of 100 workers or more. They have adopted laws to exempt employers in their state, filed lawsuits and in some cases are ensuring that workers who are fired for refusing a vaccine will have access to unemployment insurance. They question the constitutionality of the federal regulation, saying the federal workplace safety agency does not have the power to impose vaccine mandates. The Biden administration says it does.