A bill that would ban employers in Wyoming from requiring employees to be vaccinated has been drafted for the Wyoming Legislature and will come before lawmakers early next year.

At this point, the bill is only a draft and has not been assigned a bill number. But you can read the draft bill here.

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The draft legislation would define requiring employees to be vaccinated as a"discriminatory or unfair employment practice.''

The proposal will be put forward by the Labor, Health,and Social Services Committee.

The measure would also create a personal exemption to mandatory immunizations for school children and require healthcare providers, governmental entities, and providers of essential services to accommodate people who are not vaccinated.

According to information in a memorandum provided to the legislative committee, neither the federal Americans with Disabilities Act nor the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prevents employers from imposing vaccination mandates in the workplace:

As discussed below, both impose certain obligations and restrictions on employers. However, neither explicitly prohibit employers from imposing mandatory vaccination requirements on their employees or job applicants.

Another memorandum presented to the committee said the state law on whether employers can impose vaccine mandates is unclear:

''Broadly speaking, there are no provisions in Wyoming law which affirmatively authorize employers to require certain vaccinations as a precondition of employment. However, under Wyoming's Occupational Health and Safety provisions, employers "may require an employee to submit to a physical examination before employment or at any time during employment."4 Whether such a "physical examination" would include mandatory vaccinations is not addressed in the statute; defining the term "physical examination" within this statute would likely resolve this ambiguity.''

Rep. Landon Brown [R-Laramie County] said Friday that it's possible other bills designed to restrict vaccine mandates may also come before Wyoming lawmakers when they meet early in 2022 in Cheyenne. So far Montana is the only state with a law banning workplace vaccine mandates.

Townsquare Media has posted an online poll asking for opinions on legislation to ban workplace vaccine mandates.

You can answer that poll here.

 

 

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