A bill moving in Nashville would give Tennessee employees a host of Covid-related protections against employers unless those employers include Ford Motor Co., any business that has received state funds, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, private schools, jails, prisons, and more likely to come.
Tennessee senators passed the legislation — what bill sponsor Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) called the “big bill” or “omnibus bill” — in a committee hearing Friday morning. It’s big because it does a lot. It says:
• No employer (private, government, nor school) can take any adverse action against an employee who refuses to show proof of a Covid-19 vaccine.
• Any employee fired for not showing proof of a vaccine can get Tennessee unemployment benefits from wages lost in the past and into the future.
• No vaccine can be given to a child without parental consent.
• Creates two triggers (called a “severe condition”) for mask mandates: The governor has to declare a state of emergency. Counties seeking a mandate have to have a case rate of 1,000 cases per 100,000 population.
• Mask mandates in counties can last only 14 days.
• School districts cannot implement a district-wide mask mandate.
• In a severe condition, individual schools may ask the school board’s permission to institute a mask mandate. If approved, they would last 14 days.
• Only the Tennessee Commissioner of Health can stipulate details of quarantine.
• Only those testing positive for Covid can be quarantined, not those exposed with a negative test.
• Any employer that violates the new rules would lose liability protections set out by the legislature earlier this year.
As debate on the “big bill” began Friday, exemptions to it began to flow. Ford Motor Co., which was just given $500 million by lawmakers last week, would be exempt. Carve-outs were promised, too, for all ot the entities listed in the top of the story.
Sen. Sarah Kyle (D-Memphis) urged caution on the sweeping legislation and pointed to a letter she and others received from a long list of Tennessee businesses, nonprofits, and chambers of commerce, including the Greater Memphis Chamber and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“We oppose any proposals that outright remove the ability of an employer to determine their own vaccination and mask policies,” reads the letter. “We believe that any legislation of this kind is unnecessary government intrusion into the operation of our businesses. Tennessee’s strong business climate is based on this fundamental principle, including the state’s employment-at-will law.”
Kyle asked Johnson to consider removing the bill for now and to bring it to the body again when it meets in January during the regular session. Johnson said about 100 lawmakers signed a letter to create the special session to deal with these Covid issues, including those in the bill.
Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville) said while he was voting for the bill, which he did, it was a “bitter pill to swallow.” He said he’d made commitments to many businesses in his district to not support the bill. However, he was given assurances that the legislation would be improved and his vote would allow other members to continue their work on it.
“There’s a lot of work to be done and we’ll have to see what the final product is,” Briggs said.
The bill was approved and moves on to the Senate Calendar Committee for a review next week.
