Disney World PAUSES its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for workers at Florida theme park after Gov. DeSantis made it illegal for companies to mandate shot
- Disney has halted its vaccine mandate for employees in the Sunshine State
- Disney had made vaccination mandatory on July 30 for all its on-site salaried and non-union hourly employees in the United States, as Delta cases spiked
- On Thursday, Gov Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning Biden’s vaccine mandate
- Gov DeSantis bill, which goes against President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate for private companies, would have made the tourism brand subject to fines
- Vaccine requirements remain in place for employees of Disney’s subsidiary companies across the country and guests five and older in its cruise lines
- The decision to require proof of vaccination for children before the time of sailing came on the heels of Pfizer’s vaccine approval for children
Disney World has put its COVID-19 vaccination mandate on hold for its Florida theme park employees after Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law making it illegal for companies to require staff get vaccinated.
DeSantis’ bill, which goes against President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate for private companies, would have made the tourism brand subject to fines.
The Biden administration’s workplace COVID-19 vaccine rule requires businesses with at least 100 employees to require staff get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly and wear a face covering at work.
Florida’s bill banning vaccine mandates, which was signed on Thursday, is the latest chapter in a heated legal battle at the state and federal level for vaccination freedoms – with companies such as Disney caught in the middle.
Although Disney has halted its vaccine mandate for employees in the Sunshine State, vaccine requirements remain in place for employees of its subsidiary companies across the country and guests five and older in its cruise lines.
The decision to require proof of vaccination for children before the time of sailing came on the heels of Pfizer’s vaccine approval for children.
Disney and its subsidiary ESPN recently came under fire after host Allison Wilson left the network and refused the vaccine citing concerns that it could affect her chances of getting pregnant.
Disney has halted its vaccine mandate for employees in the Sunshine State after Gov DeSantis signed into law a bill making it illegal for companies to require staff get vaccinated
‘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,’ the governor said in a statement
DeSantis bill, which goes against President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate for private companies, would have made the tourism brand subject to fines
The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature delivered the bill blocking Covid-19 mandates on Wednesday and Governor DeSantis signed it into law on Thursday, casting the measures as an effort to protect workers who could lose their jobs for lack of compliance.
‘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,’ the governor said in a statement. In reality, the bill seemed to be a direct attack to the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, Disney did not backpedal from its initial July vaccine mandate. The company argued that it was the right course of action at the time, and that it allowed for 90 percent of its staff in its Florida theme park to be fully vaccinated.
A spokesperson for the company said in a statement: ‘We believe that our approach to mandatory vaccines has been the right one as we have continued to focus on the safety and well-being of our Cast Members and Guests, and at this point, more than 90 percent of active Florida-based Cast Members have already verified that they are fully vaccinated.’
Executives of Disney, along with United Parcel Service Inc and others, met with White House officials last month to discuss President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement plan for private-sector workers, amid concerns it could worsen labor shortages and supply-chain woes.
Biden imposed the requirement in September, telling Americans that ‘our patience is wearing thin’ with those refusing to get inoculated.
Vaccine requirements remain in place for employees of Disney’s subsidiary companies across the country and guests five and older in its cruise lines
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday banning Joe Biden’s private company vaccine mandate from going into effect in Florida
Disney had made vaccination mandatory on July 30 for all its on-site salaried and non-union hourly employees in the United States, as the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 variant drove a resurgence in cases then.
Vaccine mandates have proved to be deeply controversial in the United States.
Supporters say they are helping to end the nearly two-year coronavirus pandemic, while opponents argue they violate the US Constitution and curb individual liberty.
Democratic states like California have pushed to increase vaccination rates and mask use, while Republican states have notoriously dismissed CDC advice and opposed mask and vaccine mandates.
DeSantis has led a relentless fight against judges to make COVID-19 mandates illegal and has repeatedly appealed court rulings and withheld money from school districts that continue to enforce masks.
However, Disney Cruise Line recently announced that it will require all guests ages 5 and up to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before setting sail starting early next year.
In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, Disney announced the new rules will begin on January 13, 2022.
The cruise line currently requires anyone 12 and older who is vaccine-eligible to be vaccinated, while passengers who are not vaccine-eligible must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result taken between 3 days and 24 hours before the ship sails.
Younger children who are not eligible for the vaccine must complete testing requirements, which must be a NAAT test, rapid PCR test, or lab-based PCR test, the company said. Rapid antigen tests are not acceptable options, officials said.
Disney’s vaccine requirement runs against a Florida law that would fine companies for mandating vaccines. Norwegian Cruise Line´s parent company has sued over the law, and won an injunction against the state for enforcing it. The state has appealed the decision.
Former ESPN sideline reporter Allison Williams has resurfaced on the conservative news website, Daily Wire, after leaving the sports cable giant in a dispute over its vaccine mandate
Disney was slammed by conservative media last month after ex-ESPN reporter Allison Williams became a cause célèbre for those who oppose vaccine mandates this year when she publicly defied the company’s vaccine mandate.
Williams, who began at the network in 2011, typically works college football and basketball games, but was absent in the opening week of the ongoing football season and later revealed why in a statement.
‘While my work is incredibly important to me, the most important role I have is as a mother,’ she wrote in a statement. ‘Throughout our family planning with our doctor, as well as a fertility specialist, I have decided not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this time while my husband and I try for a second child. This was a deeply difficult decision to make and it’s not something I take lightly.’
It is unclear how Biden’s executive order and DeSantis anti-vaccine mandate will affect private companies in Florida, and in what degree those companies will be subject to fines depending on what orders they abide by.
By January 4, 2022 all employees at companies need to be vaccinated against coronavirus, according to the OSHA rule, or else provided weekly proof of a negative COVID test and wear a mask at the work site.
If companies or businesses are found to be noncompliant, they could face a fine of nearly 14,000 per unvaccinated employee.
The administration, however, will likely have to rely on whistleblowers within companies to tell on their bosses for not upholding the new rule considering OSHA does not have the manpower needed to inspect workplaces for compliance.
There are currently more than 47 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US, and over 3.6 million are in Florida.
There are currently more than 47 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US, and over 3.6 million are in Florida
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