Workers fired for refusing COVID vaccine would get year's pay under Arizona legislation

PHOENIX — Companies that fire Arizona employees for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID could be required to continue paying them for a year.

The state House gave preliminary approval Monday to legislation that would make such payments automatic, though it would permit either a lump sum or installments. The only way for a firm to escape the financial hit would be to give the worker the job back — but with a “reasonable accommodation’’ to honor any claim of a religious exemption.

And the measure, House Bill 2198, which now awaits a roll-call vote before going to the Senate, would be retroactive, covering any who lost a job as long ago as December.

Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, said the payment is justified.

“They need time to find employment,’’ he said.

He said it’s also a matter of civil rights. State and federal laws require employers to honor a worker’s “sincerely held religious beliefs’’ against getting vaccinated, he noted.

“And they’re supposed to provide accommodations to their workers,’’ Kaiser said. Those usually take the form of options such as being placed separate from other workers, or working at home.

However, Kaiser’s legislation doesn’t mention the issue of workers having a religious reason for refusing the vaccine. And, as written, it would permit employees to object for any reason and, if denied some accommodation, demand a year’s worth of pay.

State lawmakers have proposed several measures to prohibit government agencies from requiring that workers be vaccinated.

Proposals to extend the same prohibition to private employers, however, have failed to win approval. Kaiser’s measure would provide a work-around of sorts, with no ban but instead a financial disincentive.

Not all Republicans are pleased with the alternative.

Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, said if a company is violating state and federal law, as Kaiser contends, there is recourse through the courts where evidence can be presented.

Kaiser, however, said that’s not an acceptable option, especially when he said it puts an individual worker against “one of these massive companies.’’

“That’s going to be very expensive,’’ he said. “It’s going to be more than a year to finish that lawsuit.’’

Kaiser acknowledged there is the option of filing a civil rights complaint with the attorney general’s office, but he said that also doesn’t solve the problem.

“It takes a long time,’’ he said. “The person’s already been fired. There is no recourse. And they can’t get another job in the industry.’’

Cook remained unconvinced, saying the measure runs contrary to Republican principles that say government should not set the work conditions of private employers.

Kaiser furnished Capitol Media Services with emails from people who told of being fired for refusing to get the vaccine.

Some of the complaints were from people who said they have “natural immunity’’ as a result of having previously had COVID, as well as those who contend the vaccine and the testing procedure are dangerous. But at least one person said he never asked for an exemption before being let go.