A Wuhan coronavirus vaccine mandate for Walt Disney World workers has been paused after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), signed legislation Thursday prohibiting businesses from mandating vaccines without exemptions.
In a statement to The Washington Post on Saturday, the company said it believes that its “approach to mandatory vaccines has been the right one,” and now “will address legal developments as appropriate.”
Florida’s new legislation bars private companies from mandating coronavirus vaccines for their employees. Instead, employees can choose from numerous exemptions, including health concerns, religious concerns, pregnancy, anticipated pregnancy, and past recovery from the virus. Additionally, employees can choose to opt-out of the vaccine and undergo periodic testing or PPE as their exemption. Taking this a step further, employers must cover the cost of the testing and PPE exemptions for their employees.
In a press release from DeSantis’ office, it notes that employers who violate these protections will be fined. Small businesses (99 employees and less) will face a fine of $10,000 per employee violation. Medium and large businesses will face $50,000 per employee violation.
Furthermore, government entities and educational institutions are prohibited from requiring vaccines for employees and students. School districts are prohibited from implementing mask requirements and forcing healthy students to quarantine.
“Nobody should lose their job due to heavy-handed COVID mandates and we had a responsibility to protect the livelihoods of the people of Florida,” DeSantis said in a statement. “I told Floridians that we would protect their jobs and today we made that the law.”
In a statement to Fox Business, a spokesperson for Disney noted that 90 percent of the active Florida-based cast verified that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Earlier this year, Disney had required union employees to be vaccinated to keep their employment. The deadline for the employees to show their vaccination proof was Oct. 22.
Last week, Disney Cruise Line announced that all passengers ages 5 and up will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 starting in January. Passengers will be tested again before boarding to ensure they are not infected with the virus. Any passenger with a positive test will be denied boarding.
“As we set sail again, the health and safety of our Guests, Cast Members, and Crew Members is a top priority,” Disney Cruise Line’s announcement states. “We’ve reimagined your cruise experience so we all can enjoy the magic responsibly.”
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