TX Governor Greg Abbott: Today, I signed into law Senate Bill 7, which bans private employer COVID vaccine mandates in our state.

TX Governor Greg Abbott via X (aka Twitter) ^ | Nov 10, 2023 | Governor Greg Abbott

[Texas Fossil]

Texas will always protect personal liberties.

Today, I signed into law Senate Bill 7, which bans private employer COVID vaccine mandates in our state.

Thank you to Sen. @mayes_middleton and Rep. @leachfortexas

for their leadership to get this done during Special Session #3.

---

Bill Title: Relating to prohibiting a private employer from adopting or enforcing certain COVID-19 vaccine mandates; authorizing an administrative penalty.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 69-1)

Status: (Passed) 2023-11-10 - Effective on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 6, 2024 [SB7 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB7-Enrolled.html

	S.B. No. 7

 

AN ACT

 

relating to prohibiting a private employer from adopting or

 

enforcing certain COVID-19 vaccine mandates; authorizing an

 

administrative penalty.

 

       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 

       SECTION 1.  Subtitle D, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is

 

amended by adding Chapter 81D to read as follows:

 

CHAPTER 81D. PROHIBITED CORONAVIRUS VACCINE MANDATES BY PRIVATE

 

EMPLOYER

 

       Sec. 81D.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

 

             (1)  "Adverse action" means an action taken by an

 

employer that a reasonable person would consider was for the

 

purpose of punishing, alienating, or otherwise adversely affecting

 

an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for

 

a contract position.

 

             (2)  "Commission" means the Texas Workforce

 

Commission.

 

             (3)  "Contractor" means a person who undertakes

 

specific work for an employer in exchange for a benefit without

 

submitting to the control of the employer over the manner, methods,

 

or details of the work.

 

             (4)  "COVID-19" means the 2019 novel coronavirus

 

disease and any variants of the disease.

 

             (5)  "Employer" means a person, other than a

 

governmental entity, who employs one or more employees.

 

       Sec. 81D.002.  EMPLOYER CORONAVIRUS VACCINE MANDATES

 

PROHIBITED. An employer may not adopt or enforce a mandate

 

requiring an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or

 

applicant for a contract position to be vaccinated against COVID-19

 

as a condition of employment or a contract position.

 

       Sec. 81D.003.  PROHIBITED ADVERSE ACTION BY EMPLOYER. An

 

employer may not take an adverse action against an employee,

 

contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract

 

position for a refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

 

       Sec. 81D.0035.  ADVERSE ACTION EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN HEALTH

 

CARE FACILITIES, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, AND PHYSICIANS. (a) In

 

this section:

 

             (1)  "Health care facility" means a facility that is a

 

provider of services, as defined by Section 1861, Social Security

 

Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1395x).

 

             (2)  "Health care provider" and "physician" have the

 

meanings assigned by Section 74.001, Civil Practice and Remedies

 

Code.

 

       (b)  A health care facility, health care provider, or

 

physician may establish and enforce a reasonable policy that

 

includes requiring the use of protective medical equipment by an

 

individual who is an employee or contractor of the facility,

 

provider, or physician and who is not vaccinated against COVID-19

 

based on the level of risk the individual presents to patients from

 

the individual's routine and direct exposure to patients.

 

       (c)  Establishing or enforcing a policy described by

 

Subsection (b) is not considered an adverse action under this

 

chapter.

 

       Sec. 81D.004.  COMPLAINT; INVESTIGATION. (a) An employee,

 

contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract

 

position against whom an employer took an adverse action in

 

violation of this chapter may file a complaint with the commission

 

in the form and manner prescribed by commission rules.

 

       (b)  A complaint filed with the commission must include the

 

following information:

 

             (1)  the name of the complainant;

 

             (2)  the name of the employer; and

 

             (3)  the nature and description of any alleged adverse

 

action the employer took against the complainant.

 

       (c)  On receipt of a complaint under Subsection (a), the

 

commission shall conduct an investigation to determine whether the

 

employer took an adverse action against the complainant because of

 

the complainant's refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19.  For a

 

complaint against a health care facility, health care provider, or

 

physician, the commission shall consult with the department in

 

determining if a policy adopted under Section 81D.0035 was

 

reasonable.

 

       Sec. 81D.005.  INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. (a)  On receipt of a

 

complaint filed under Section 81D.004, the commission may request

 

that the attorney general bring an action for injunctive relief

 

against the employer to prevent further violations of this chapter

 

by the employer.  The action must be filed in a district court in:

 

             (1)  Travis County; or

 

             (2)  the county in which the alleged adverse action

 

occurred.

 

       (b)  In an injunction issued under Subsection (a), a court

 

may include reasonable requirements to prevent further violations

 

of this chapter.

 

       Sec. 81D.006.  ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a)  The commission

 

shall impose on an employer who violates this chapter an

 

administrative penalty in an amount equal to $50,000 for each

 

violation, unless the employer, as applicable:

 

             (1)  hires the applicant for employment or offers a

 

contract to the applicant for a contract position; or

 

             (2)  reinstates the employee or contractor and provides

 

the employee or contractor with back pay from the date the employer

 

took the adverse action and makes every reasonable effort to

 

reverse the effects of the adverse action, including reestablishing

 

employee benefits for which the employee or contractor otherwise

 

would have been eligible if the adverse action had not been taken.

 

       (b)  If, following an investigation under Section 81D.004,

 

the commission determines that the employer violated this chapter,

 

the commission may recover from the employer reasonable

 

investigative costs incurred by the commission in conducting the

 

investigation, regardless of whether the employer has taken an

 

action described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2).

 

       Sec. 81D.007.  RULES. The commission shall adopt rules as

 

necessary to implement and enforce this chapter.

 

       SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only

 

to conduct or an adverse action that occurs on or after the

 

effective date of this Act.

 

       SECTION 3.  If any provision of this Act or its application

 

to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does

 

not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be

 

given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to

 

this end the provisions of this Act are declared severable.

 

       SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

 

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

 

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

 

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

 

Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the

 

legislative session.

   

	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House

 

       I hereby certify that S.B. No. 7 passed the Senate on October

 

12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 19, Nays 12; and that the

 

Senate concurred in House amendments on October 31, 2023, by the

 

following vote: Yeas 17, Nays 11.

 

	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate

 

       I hereby certify that S.B. No. 7 passed the House, with

 

amendments, on October 26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 91,

 

Nays 54, one present not voting.

 

	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House

   

Approved:

   

______________________________ 

 

            Date

     

______________________________ 

 

          Governor

[Texas Fossil]

Yes. Texas is the first state to ban employer "mandated" Covid19 Vaccines.

This does not exclude hospitals.

Governor Abbott has long stated that in Texas these were a decision for those receiving the shots.

There has been a lot of really evil snaky monetary incentives for providers of these treatments. Forcing anyone to lose their employment is against the grain of everything our nations stands for.

Informed Consent has always been the standard. Until 3 years ago.

[HamiltonJay]

Should have been passed 3 years ago

[jz638]

Daniel Perry will be comforted by this while he awaits that pardon Abbott promised was coming six months ago.

[Jane Long]

God bless Texas!! Yee haw! 🤠

[Jane Long]

So sad.

What is the hold up, per Gov Abbott?

[ealgeone]

What I’m thinking......now that the pandemic is done.

[exDemMom]

Oh, gee. While Texas public health officials have been out there educating people and trying to get this pandemic under control, here comes an absolutely idiotic measure from the governor.

There are reasons for mandatory vaccinations. Mostly it’s because people, given a choice, are almost as likely to do the wrong dangerous thing as they are to do the right thing.

Does Texas really need to drive Covid back to 2021 levels to find out why vaccines are necessary?

Any business that serves vulnerable people or that deals with the public absolutely SHOULD be able to mandate that its staff be vaccinated. I guess those old people in nursing homes just don’t matter, though, do they?

[SeekAndFind]

Ping to you.

Within 6 months, we will either see excess deaths from Covid in Texas, or not at all because of this policy.

Want a real life test? This is one.

[Safrguns]

REDUNDANT!!!

MANDATES were ALREADY UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!

They were ALREADY a VIOLATION of the Nuremberg Code!

If we were unable to enforce BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS in 2021-2022, then What the Hell good is this STUPID LAW in 2023 after they already STOPPED mandating???

All this does now is to PROVE How USELESS our laws are when they are needed the most.

It just goes to show you how spineless our leaders are when the answer is always to pass new laws instead of enforcing existing ones!

Dont get me wrong... I’m glad they are doing this... It just pisses me off that nobody seems to understand why it’s not needed!

Laws are just things you do now to gain votes!

[Bikkuri]

You should move to North Korea... you would fit right in.

[OKSooner]

Everything that you just now said right there is all so 2020.

Fact: The jabs are ineffective.

Fact: The jabs are unsafe.

Fact: Both of these facts are under assault from the government/pharma propaganda/censorship machine.

Fact: You already know that, don't you? Of course you do.

[OKSooner]

Any hospital that attempts to require the jab, at this point, will lose half their employees. The big half.

[NorthMountain]

Hail Fauci!!! Hail Victory!!!

[pax_et_bonum]

Thanks for the ping, Jane!

I agree with your YEEEE-HAAAAWWWW!!!

:-)

(Thanks for posting, Texas Fossil!)

[Jane Long]

The fake/bot “researchers” will *generate* the “data”.

[Jane Long]

Go away, bot.

[READINABLUESTATE]

Let freedom ring!

[RWGinger]

Has the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended the pardon?
That has to happen before a Gov. can do the pardon?

[TexasFreeper2009]

A day late and a dollar short. The issue isn’t even Covid at this point, it is some OTHER vaccine that might get pushed on us at some point in the future under the guise of public health.

No one should EVER be forced to take a vaccine or wear a mask. PERIOD. EVER.

[TexasFreeper2009]

the vaccines don’t and never did prevent transmission. So your “vulnerable” people would be just as vulnerable either way.

My suggestion to the vulnerable is... avoid public areas during a pandemic.