Lawmakers in Iowa passed a bill Thursday that allows people who were fired for refusing to comply with vaccine mandates to receive unemployment benefits. Gov. Kim Reynolds has pledged to sign it.
Back in May, Reynolds was one of nine Republican governors to cut off federal unemployment benefits, according to the Des Moines Register.
The Republican governor called the Thursday’s bill “a major step forward in protecting Iowans’ freedoms and their abilities to make healthcare decisions based on what’s best for themselves and their families,” according to the Associated Press.
President Joe Biden announced new employer vaccine requirements in September, including a Dec. 8 deadline for employees of federal contractors to be fully vaccinated. The Washington Post reported that the Iowa legislation also broadens religious and medical vaccination exemption opportunities.
Data from the Iowa Department of Public Health shows that nearly 7,000 people in the state have died from COVID-19 and another nearly 7,000 people tested positive for the virus there in the seven-day period ending Thursday.
Reynolds announced Friday that Iowa would also be joining a federal lawsuit challenging a mandate that every employee of every federal contractor in America get vaccinated.
“It will only worsen the workforce shortage and supply chain issues that hinder our economic recovery,” she said. While Reynolds said that she believes vaccines are the best way to prevent COVID-19, she also said that she does not want people to choose between “making a living and standing up for their personal beliefs.”
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that his state filed a lawsuit against the federal vaccine mandates. In addition to Iowa and Florida, Alabama, Arizona, Texas and South Dakota are also resisting the federal vaccination requirements, said The Washington Post.
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