TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday formally called a special session to address COVID-19 vaccine mandates on employees by businesses and local governments, ordering the Legislature to convene from Nov. 15-19.
But DeSantis backed off from stripping COVID-19 liability protections from businesses that impose vaccine mandates on their workers. DeSantis pushed for that earlier this year as a way to boost Florida’s economic rebound coming out of the pandemic. But last week he said he felt “stabbed in the back” by businesses with mandates.
In his proclamation issued Friday, however, removal of liability protections wasn’t included. A DeSantis spokeswoman said the ultimate goal is to prevent businesses from firing workers who opt against getting vaccinated, and there will be other “enforcement mechanisms” to dissuade companies from requiring vaccines in the first place.
