Democrat Assemblywoman Proposes Bill That Would Require ALL California Workers to be Fully Vaccinated Against Covid

A new bill proposed by Democrat Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (Oakland) would require ALL workers in California to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The proposed legislation would mandate all California businesses to require their employees and independent contractors to be vaccinated against Covid unless the employee obtains an exemption for religious reasons or a medical reason.

People who receive an exemption would be required to be regularly tested for Covid.

“That’s fundamentally what this bill is about,” Wicks said. “Getting back to some sense of normalcy so we can go on with our lives, and we don’t have these constant interruptions and outbreaks and all these things that we’ve been experiencing for so long.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom last year mandated all of the state’s 2.2 million healthcare workers get vaccinated against Covid or face firing.

ABC 7 reported:

California would mandate that all businesses require their employees and independent contractors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine under legislation announced Friday by Democratic state lawmakers that was immediately criticized by Republicans as government overreach.

Employees or contractors who qualify for medical or religious exemptions would have to be regularly tested under a planned amendment to the bill. New employees would have to get at least one dose by the time they start work and the second dose within 45 days of being on the job.

Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks introduced her bill months after delaying an original proposal last fall. The previous version would have allowed workers to submit to weekly testing as an alternative to getting vaccinated, but that is not an option in her new proposal.

The mandate would stay in place unless the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decides that COVID-19 vaccinations are no longer needed.

The bill would require state health and occupational safety officials to advise employers on what qualifies as a medical condition, disability, religious belief and valid vaccination status. Businesses that didn’t comply would face penalties that have yet to be determined.

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Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher blasted Democrat lawmakers for proposing the vaccine mandate.

“[T]elling people they can’t feed their family unless they get the vaccine is just wrong,” Gallagher said. “I trust Californians enough to treat them like adults who can make their own health care decisions. It’s unfortunate that a few Democrats in the Legislature don’t.”