Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is pushing forward with plans to penalize local governments that have Covid-19 vaccine mandates in place, as the mayor of Orange County, which includes Orlando, said Monday he had received a letter from the state threatening the county with fines for its vaccine requirement.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said at a press briefing Monday his office received a letter at 4:52 p.m. Friday from the Florida Department of Health, which claims the county’s vaccine mandate is a “discriminatory policy” that “infringes upon the fundamental rights and privacies of Floridians.”
The county has a mandate in place that requires all employees to be fully vaccinated by September 30 or face a written reprimand, with which Demings said an “overwhelming majority” of employees have complied.
The Department of Health alleges the vaccine mandate goes against a Florida state statute that prohibits governmental entities from requiring proof of Covid-19 vaccination, or else face a fine of $5,000 per infraction—which could add up to millions of dollars if local governments are fined for each employee.
The department told Demings the county is now subject to the fines because of its policy, and asked the county to “immediately provide” the number of employees subject to the vaccine policy, according to a copy of the letter provided to Forbes.
Demings said Monday the county’s attorney would review and respond to the letter, but did not back down from the vaccine policy and said “there’s no doubt” the issue would end up in court.
“We’re on firm legal ground with this vaccine mandate that we have put in place,” Demings said, citing federal law that supports employer vaccine mandates and criticizing the state statute as “arbitrary, capricious [and] overbroad.” The mayor, a Democrat who’s married to U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), also suggested the state’s threat “has some political overtones” from Republican DeSantis, but noted taxpayers would ultimately be the ones who would be punished since their funds would be used to pay any state-ordered fines.
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
