COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates: The Louisiana Legislature Failed to Act to Protect Employees
And it may cost businesses millions.
The COVID-19 vaccines are the gifts that keep on giving - except for immunity from COVID-19. They can't give that. They were sold as a magic elixir, the potion to finally end the pandemic and get us back to normal. They NEVER lived up to the hype.
We tried to warn you.
While a recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine never actually achieves immunity to COVID-19, they may get a host of other (unwanted) things. It turns out the vaccines, besides being ineffective, have a frightening safety profile, may cause an increased susceptibility to COVID-19, and are very likely to cost businesses across the country millions of dollars in legal fees and damages for wrongful termination.
The legal opinion from the US Department of Justice allowing businesses to mandate an Emergency Use Authorized drug for their employees will undoubtedly go down in history as another disastrous Biden administration mistake. With the “right to refuse” an experimental drug effectively removed, employees had no other choice but to seek a religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine employment mandate under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
In 2020, we tried to warn the Louisiana Legislature that mandates would happen and that there is NOTHING in state law to protect employees from a vaccine mandate. The answer we received from the House Health and Welfare Committee: that’s a solution in search of a problem.
During the Second Extraordinary Legislative Session of 2020, Health Freedom Louisiana supported legislation that would protect both businesses and employees from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Introduced by State Representative Danny McCormick, HB49 would have prevented the mandate of a non-FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine, and if a COVID-19 vaccine were approved, it could only be required if the following conditions were met:
(a) The vaccination is evaluated for any potential risk of harm to cause cancer, impair fertility, or mutate genes.
(b) The safety of the vaccination is evaluated for at least one year after it is administered through a clinical trial against a control group, the members of which receive either the vaccination or an inert placebo which is FDA-approved.
(c) Studies are conducted to identify any potential injury or disease that may be caused by the vaccination or any injury or disease the vaccination may cause when administered with other required or recommended vaccinations.
(d) The risk of permanent disability or death from receiving the vaccination is proven to be less than the infection rate associated with COVID-19.
(e) The manufacturer of the vaccination is liable for any claims of injury or death caused by the vaccination.
The proposed legislation also required:
Safety and efficacy data be made readily available and understandable for the public;
Provided an exemption for medical, religious, or philosophical reasons;
Prohibited discrimination and coercion against those who refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
This bill - HB49 - received only TWO votes in committee. There was concern amongst committee members that it was “a solution in search of a problem.”
EVERY ONE of the stipulations of that proposed legislation have since been violated, which subsequently caused havoc in the workplace and the Louisiana economy.
Then again, during the 2022 Legislative Session, there were several bills introduced to protect employees in various ways from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Our favorite by far was legislation introduced by State Representative Beryl Amedee, HB1022, which was designed to protect not only employees but employers, as well. The legislation ensured that employees required to receive a liability-free medical procedure, like a COVID-19 vaccine, would be informed that the product is liability-free, meaning they cannot sue for any harm incurred as a result of the procedure. Employees were also assured of a discrimination-free right to refuse a liability-free medical procedure. If employees were made aware of this and still chose to undergo the liabilty-free medical procedure, then the employer would be shielded from litigation.
When the bill made it to the House floor for a vote, business associations - Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) and National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) - lobbied aggressively against it and inaccurately stated that it would create a cause of action against the business while failing to realize that harm caused by workplace requirements is already a cause of action. HB1022 would have protected businesses while providing employees with the ability to choose if the medical procedure is appropriate for them considering the extenuating circumstances (liability-free).
Not a single bill introduced to prohibit a COVID-19 vaccine mandate was passed by the Louisiana Legislature.
Did other states pass legislation to prohibit a COVID-19 vaccine mandate?
Yes!
Most notably, Florida enacted legislation protecting employees from COVID-19 vaccine mandates, including the CMS (Medicaid and Medicare) mandate (affecting healthcare workers). The federal CMS mandate stipulates that individuals can submit a religious exemption. However, we know of many instances where the religious exemption was denied, or inappropriate questions were asked pertaining to an individual’s religious beliefs, which leaves businesses vulnerable to litigation. In Florida, employees are assured of the option of a religious exemption for COVID-19 vaccine requirements, with exemption information readily available on the Florida Department of Health website.
Instead of protecting employees and businesses from the incredible overreach of a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the Louisiana Legislature failed repeatedly to take the issue seriously.
The failure to take action on mandates could costs Louisiana businesses millions.
A case in Illinois has set a precedent in wrongful termination lawsuits where employees with strongly held religious beliefs were denied exemptions from the vaccine mandate.
How will this affect Louisiana? We are about to find out.
The floodgates have opened and wrongful termination lawsuits are being filed in Louisiana. Lafayette attorney, G. Shelly Maturin, recently filed three separate religious discrimination lawsuits on behalf of plaintiffs alleging termination in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Holley Furrow and Melissa Elliott are suing Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Shreveport for religious discrimination following their termination on December 2, 2021, after submitting valid religious exemptions for the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Courtney Troulliet is suing her former employer Fox News affiliate, WVUE Fox 8 in New Orleans, for religious discrimination following her termination on October 1, 2021, after submitting a valid religious exemption. Considering the majority of Ms. Troulliet’s work was done remotely, WVUE’s hardship claim is unsupported and incredibly egregious.
Christina Reichert is suing Option Care Health for religious discrimination following her termination on October 22, 2021, when Option Care refused to make reasonable accommodations for her religious beliefs without explanation.
Pacific Justice Institute, on behalf of Louisiana resident Joey Babineaux and others, is suing British Petroleum for wrongful termination. You can listen to a brief overview of the case in the tweet below:
The damage the mandates have caused is far-reaching and yet the end is nowhere in sight. So much could have been prevented, but the Louisiana Legislature under the leadership of House Speaker Clay Schexnayder and Senate President Cortez refused to uphold their oath, take action, and protect the citizens of Louisiana.
Perhaps the scariest part of all this, is there is still nothing in place to prevent any of it from happening again.
Session begins April 10th. Are you prepared to get involved and make your voice heard to pressure legislators to finally pass bills that will protect your rights? We are ready to support multiple pieces of legislation, but without strong public support, they will surely be defeated, as they have in the past. Our economy and the healthcare industry have not recovered from the chaos and uncertainty that mandates created.
We tried to warn you.
If you find value in our work, please consider donating to us to help fund our efforts. We are 100% volunteer and do not get paid, but we give our time to research, inform, and empower others because we know it’s critical to maintaining our liberties. Parents must know their rights so they can protect their freedom.
For media inquiries, please email info@healthfreedomla.org
Thank you so much for the work y’all are doing.
Thank you for your thorough work to keep Louisiana citizens informed. I have forwarded your email about the utter failure of HB47 (McCormick) to two representatives from the Shreveport -Bossier area. I hope they take heed. Some read and remember. Some do not, and it is obvious.