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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said fines would be levied to city and county governments requiring COVID-19 vaccines for their employees.
A report from Yahoo cited DeSantis as claiming Florida would fine local governments $5,000 for each employee that is forced to get a vaccine in order to carry on working. This comes on the back of President Joe Biden’s recent mandate that requires all federal workers and contractors to get vaccinated.
Additionally, Biden announced an emergency rule that requires employers with 100 or more employees to require their workforce to either be fully vaccinated or to present a negative COVID-19 test at least once per week if unvaccinated.
Yahoo reported that Florida is preparing to begin enforcing the law — which stems from the law signed in May by DeSantis that banned governmental entities in the state from requiring proof of vaccination or post-infection recovery and imposed a $5,000 fine for any entity that asks for proof of vaccination — on Thursday.
The governor claims the mandates will result in millions of dollars in potential fines, declaring that vaccine mandates are political and designed to use government power to control the population.
“We’re going to protect these jobs, we’re going to protect livelihoods and we’re going to protect families,” DeSantis said, according to Yahoo.
DeSantis is also embroiled in a battle against mask mandates in Florida schools, as a state appeals court has allowed the state to continue implementing its order that bans mask requirements in schools.