Tennessee Republicans pulled a double switcheroo in Nashville Tuesday, twisting a special session on economic development into a Covid-culture war zone.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly to review an $884 million incentive package to bring a Ford Motor Co. manufacturing facility to the Memphis Regional Megasite in Haywood County.
House Republicans’ first switcheroo came as they brought a bill during that session against employers from asking employees for proof of a Covid vaccine. Switcheroo number two came during the debate on that bill. After a brief recess, the GOP brought a surprise amendment to the bill to disallow school districts from mandating face masks.
On the original bill brought to the session, Tennessee businesses can be sued if they fire an employee who refuses to show proof of a Covid-19 vaccine. That is the will of a majority of Tennessee House committee members who voted Tuesday to approve a bill giving employees this right.
Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) introduced the legislation to the committee Tuesday, not the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rusty Grills (R-Newbern). Zachary warned of President Joseph Biden’s proposal to mandate vaccines for employees for all companies with more than 100 employees.
Zachary said the president “weaponized the free market against us,” in a star-spangled speech draped in “rights” and “freedoms” and short on references to Covid mortality rates or pediatric case numbers.
The original bill would have given such employees access to unemployment compensation as well. The bill introduced Tuesday was stripped of this portion and only allowed fired employees the right to sue their companies. However, unemployment insurance was added back to it with an amendment as the bill was debated.
Though, officials with the Tennessee Department of Labor said employees fired for not getting the Covid vaccine are eligible for unemployment insurance. They’d only not be eligible if getting a Covid shot was part of their original employment agreement. That is, if getting a shot was not in your original contract with your boss, you can still get unemployment in Tennessee.
Republicans said they didn’t care if the law was duplicative. They stressed the need to “send a message” to employers and others with the legislation.
As for employees suing their boss, Rep. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) put things plainly, saying, “I thought I was coming up here to split up $1 billion” for Ford. With that, he asked Zachary if he’d talk with Ford about the law as it would open the company up to potential lawsuits if it mandated a vaccine. Zachary said he worked for his constituents in Knox County and “could care less what Ford is OK with” as it pertained to the legislation.
“I keep hearing Ford, Ford, Ford, and we appreciate them but we’re writing them a check for $884 million,” said Rep. Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka). “I don’t think if we pass this bill one away or another it will affect them from coming. They’re interested in the money the people of Tennessee is going to give them.”
As for mask mandates in schools, arguments on both sides were nothing new to anyone paying attention to the issue over many months. At the dawn of the 2021 school year, Lee allowed Tennessee parents to opt out of any mask mandate issued by counties, health departments, or school districts. Knox and Shelby counties both overrode the opt-out order in court and mandated students to wear masks in class.
Rep Gloria Johnson (R-Knoxville) said masks work to keep everyone safe at school. Rep. Dan Howell (R-Cleveland) pointed to the millions of fans attending college football games every Saturday “without a mask and nobody says a word about it.” For some reason, he said, some want masks on children in Tennessee, and “I just don’t get it.”
Debate continued on the legislation after deadline. No final vote had yet been taken on the overall bill.
So far, the bill does not have a Senate sponsor.
