Texas would make companies requiring COVID shot vulnerable to lawsuits

[struggle4progress]

BY NEELAM BOHRA AND MITCHELL FERMAN
OCT. 14, 20218 PM CENTRAL

... a state Senate committee on Thursday advanced legislation that would make any entity, including hospitals, vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits if they mandated vaccinations for all employees.

The Senate State Affairs Committee’s vote 5-1 to advance Senate Bill 51 .. edical and business advocacy groups ... warned lawmakers of its risks to small businesses, workplaces that rely on federal funding and immunocompromised Texans.

... business groups and medical leaders urged the Legislature to let individual companies decide whether they require employees to be vaccinated. Abbott asked lawmakers this week to take up the issue .. saying .. vaccines are “safe, effective, & our best defense against the virus, but should always remain voluntary & never forced.”

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/14/texas-vaccine-mandates-exemptions-legislature/

[vercetti2021]

1. So much for small government

These fucking fascist shitwads

[struggle4progress]

2. Vaccine mandate ban bill headed to full Texas Senate

Author: Drew Knight
Published: 12:19 PM CDT October 14, 2021
Updated: 7:48 AM CDT October 15, 2021

... a bill concerning Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order banning Texas entities from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination from employees and customers ... passed the State Affairs committee Thursday by a vote of 5 to 3, with 1 absent ...

... Members of the Senate Committee on State Affairs heard public testimony Thursday ...

"Hospitals are able to make that determination, make that judgment – should be able to make that determination, make that judgment for themselves and not apply a one size fits all approach," Steve Wohleb, the general counsel for Texas Hospital Association, said. "Certainly the state shouldn't be mandating a one-size fits all approach to hospitals. They should leave those decisions up to the hospitals who are in the best position to know what's best for their patients" ...

"Gov. Abbott's executive order banning mandates and I would also note announcement by Governor DeSantis this morning, essentially, banning the implementation of mandates, fit a familiar pattern that we've seen of putting politics ahead of public health," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. "Over 700,000 American lives have been lost due to COVID-19, including more than 56,000 in Florida and over 68,000 in Texas, and every leader should be focused on supporting efforts to save lives and end the pandemic" ...

... the third special session is set to end on Oct. 19.

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/governor-greg-abbott-anti-vaccine-mandate-texas-senate/269-b383a0f6-5f85-4394-b028-c3f0c6cd417b