Employee vax discrimination bill passes House

BOISE — Efforts to prevent employers from firing workers who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccination passed the Idaho House after a lengthy debate Tuesday.

Dubbed the “Employee Medical Information Protection Act,” House Bill 581 prohibits employers from firing, refusing to hire or otherwise discriminating against employees or job applicants because of their vaccination status.

The measure also bans employers from even asking if someone has been vaccinated.

Any violation of the restrictions would be a misdemeanor subject to a fine of as much as $1,000.

“What I’m trying to do with this bill is ensure the individual rights of citizens in this state, and make it so they don’t have to give up their rights just to keep their jobs,” said Rep. Charlie Shepherd, R-Pollock, who sponsored the legislation. “We have people who worked their whole lives, then business comes along and says they have to stick a needle in their arm or no job. That doesn’t seem right to me.”

He noted that HB 581 only applies to coronavirus vaccinations and other vaccinations made available under an emergency use authorization.

The legislation also doesn’t apply to federal workers or to health care workers, because the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld federal vaccine mandates for those two groups.

A concern for some opponents, however, was that the exemption for health care workers might not apply to home health workers — meaning sick or elderly individuals might not be able to ask in-home caregivers if they’ve been vaccinated, or refuse to hire them if they hadn’t.

“My daughter is immuno-compromised,” said Rep. Scott Syme, R-Caldwell. “My son-in-law is in a motorized wheelchair and immuno-compromised. If they want to hire someone to come into their house to help out, and they want them to be vaccinated, that’s their right. But this bill makes my daughter a criminal and punishes her with a $1,000 fine. I can’t believe we would do that.”

Rep. Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, who is a small business owner herself, echoed the concern of several other lawmakers when she said she doesn’t want government telling her how to deal with her employees.

She’s also worried that the prohibitions in Shepherd’s bill were too broad. For example, nursing homes were hard-hit during the early stages of the pandemic because residents were so vulnerable to the virus, yet Shepherd’s bill prevents them from requiring all employees to be vaccinated.

“This uses a very wide brush,” McCann said. “I think we need to be careful, and for that reason I’ll be voting no.”

Shepherd agreed government shouldn’t interfere in normal business operations. However, “we crossed that line a long time ago.” Government already mandates a multitude of anti-discrimination measures, he said, as well as safety requirements and minimum wage. Prohibiting them from asking about personal medical information is just one more step.

“Unfortunately, a small percentage of businesses in the state are abusing their ability to tell employees what they can or can’t do,” Shepherd said. “That’s where we need to step in and play referee.”

The bill passed 39-29 and now moves on to the House.

Reps. Shepherd, Mike Kingsley (R-Lewiston) and Brandon Mitchell (R-Moscow) supported the bill. Reps. McCann and Caroline Troy (R-Genesee) voted against it. Rep. Priscilla Giddings (R-White Bird) was absent.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.