Yes, your boss can require you get a COVID shot (and so can the government)
Georgians line in up in their cars at the mass vaccination site in Clarksville.
CLARKESVILLE, Ga. - With increased supplies of vaccine headed to Georgia, some businesses will soon face some complicated questions.
Can they require their employees be vaccinated? How about their customers? And can schools eventually make the same demand for students?
Legal experts tell the FOX 5 I-Team the answer to all those questions is yes. But it’s still not that simple. I think there would be some legal risk to an employer that chose to make a vaccine mandatory, said Emory law professor Dr. Ani Satz. But I think there’s some legal arguments to support that choice.
Primary Content
Caption Long-term care visitation has been restricted by Gov. Brian Kemp’s executive order and under federal guidelines. Credit: Pexels/Stock photo
A committee of the Georgia House, despite industry opposition, passed a bill Monday allowing people to visit patients in hospital and long-term care facilities during a public health emergency like the current pandemic.
House Bill 290 would allow a “legal representative,’’ usually a loved one, to visit a patient or resident for a minimum of an hour a day, if that person meets a facility’s safety standards.
The House Human Resources and Aging Committee held a robust debate for a third time on the bill and took up several amendments before approving the legislation.
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With the announcement that Georgia was expanding who was eligible to start receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, the state also gave an update on how it has already helped one of the most vulnerable groups of people: those living in long-term care homes.
Gov. Brian Kemp said starting March 8, teachers and school staff, parents of sick children, and adults with developmental disabilities and their caregivers will now be eligible to get the vaccine.
“Given the steady increase in vaccine supply and the significant progress in getting more doses administered, today we will be taking another step to protect the most vulnerable and get Georgians back to work,” Kemp said.
Floor Notes
House
Modified Structured Rule
HB 68 Professions and businesses; certain military certifications; extend time to qualify (RegI-Clark-147th) Bill PASSED 163-0.
HB 119 Professions and businesses; chiropractors may own professional corporations with physicians; provide (RegI-Hawkins-27th) Bill PASSED 163-0.
HB 161 Local government; downtown development authorities; remove provision providing perpetual existence to such authorities (GAff-Tankersley-160th) Bill PASSED 165-0.
HB 241 Insurance; revise meaning of property insurance; change parameters under which certain contracts or agreements may be canceled (Substitute) (Ins-Gambill-15th) Bill PASSED166-0.
HB 286 Local government; restrict ability of county governing authorities to reduce funding for county police departments(Substitute)(GAff-Gaines-117th) Bill was postponed.
The nation is currently in the midst of such an emergency â the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original version of the âRight to Visitââ legislation, House Bill 290, would have prevented these facilities from getting or renewing their licenses if they maintained a policy to keep visitors away from patients during a âdeclared public health emergency.â
The new version, as outlined by Rep. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, would put more limits on those visits. The changes were made after intense lobbying from the health care industry.
Instead of the more wide-open proposal, the revised bill would allow a patientâs âlegal representativeââ to visit for a minimum of an hour a day, provided that this visitor meets the facilityâs conditions. The representative would be someone designated by the patient to help make informed decisions on medical care, Setzler told the House Human Relations and Aging Committee.