Quad City employers respond to new Iowa law that allows exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates - KWQC-TV6

DES MOINES, Iowa (KWQC) - Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a vaccine mandate exemption bill into law Friday. The swiftly passed measure allows employees to request a medical or religious exemption, if a company requires them to be vaccinated against COVID-19. And, if they are fired for not complying, the law also allows the employee to collect unemployment benefits.

The Iowa legislature just passed the measure this week. Republicans insisted the bill will help workers keep their jobs, but Democrats complained it has no enforcement or penalties for companies that fire workers. They supported the bill because it does guarantee workers unemployment.

TV-6 reached out to the largest employers in the Quad Cities, which includes local hospitals.

Genesis Health System sent a statement:

“Genesis is disappointed with the passage of HF902 by the Iowa Legislature. In order to fulfill our charitable mission, Genesis needs to be able to make decisions that will provide the best possible care to our community and keep our employees and patients safe. This bill harms our ability to manage our operations and care, and is a step in the wrong direction toward ending this pandemic. While Genesis respects the political differences between the Iowa Legislature and the Federal administration, putting hospitals in the middle of a political fight is the wrong way to address those differences. In the end, this bill could have negative effects on our workforce and our ability to care for the community if another new variant takes hold.”

UnityPoint Health also responded with the following statement:

“At UnityPoint Health, the safety of our team members, patients and community is our top priority.

Having a vaccine compliant workforce aligns with our values of protecting the health and safety of our patients, team members and communities. Friday morning, Iowa’s Governor signed legislation that expands religious and medical exemptions in Iowa. We are reviewing the legislation ahead of our vaccine requirement deadline which requires team members to be compliant on Nov. 1, 2021.

We continue to emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. For those in our communities who are eligible, receiving the vaccine is the best way to help keep health care workers healthy, so our teams can focus on providing care to those who need it most.”

The new law takes effect immediately.

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source: https://www.kwqc.com/2021/10/29/quad-city-employers-respond-new-iowa-law-that-allows-exemptions-covid-19-vaccine-mandates/

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