These 4 states pay unemployment benefits to unvaccinated workers who were fired

Published Sat, Dec 4 202110:00 AM EST

Greg Iacurci@GregIacurci

• The governors of Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee signed laws in recent weeks that allow workers to collect unemployment benefits if fired for refusing to comply with a Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

• Lawmakers in other Republican-led statehouses may do the same next year.

• The Biden administration’s national vaccine mandate for large employers is being challenged in court.

Some states are making it easier for Americans to collect unemployment benefits if they’re fired for being unvaccinated against Covid-19.

The governors of Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee signed laws in recent weeks that change eligibility rules for jobless benefits. Workers in these states who lose a job for refusing to comply with a workplace Covid-19 vaccine mandate now qualify for benefits.

That runs counter to typical state rules, which generally disallow aid if workers are fired for failing to adhere to certain workplace policies, whether related to vaccine requirements or mandatory drug tests, for example, according to labor experts.

Three of the states (Florida, Iowa and Tennessee) are helmed by Republican governors. Kansas’ governor is a Democrat.

Republican lawmakers in other statehouses, including Arkansas, New York and Wisconsin, have introduced similar bills since September, according to a National Conference of State Legislatures database.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if other ones do it, especially when the legislatures get back in session [next year],” according to Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank

The move comes as many U.S. employers are weighing a workplace vaccine mandate and as fears over the omicron virus variant grow.

About 57% of large businesses require or plan to require Covid-19 vaccinations for employees, according to a survey published Tuesday by Willis Towers Watson, a consulting firm. However, more than half of those will only move forward if a Biden administration vaccine rule takes effect.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/04/4-states-pay-unemployment-benefits-to-fired-unvaccinated-workers.html