The Ohio House on Thursday approved a controversial bill to ban employers from making workers get vaccinated. Although the bill was tweaked to satisfy critics.
Earlier this week, the bill that would prevent businesses and schools from requiring employees or students to get vaccinations stalled in committee. Now, the House has passed a similar measure by tacking an amendment onto a Senate approved bill.
The Ohio Senate had already passed a bill that said Ohioans could not be forced by employers or schools to take COVID-19 vaccinations. The Ohio House added an amendment that extended that to include any vaccination that didn’t yet have full FDA approval, like COVID-19. Rep Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville) said it’s needed to protect the freedom and liberty of Ohioans.
“In this case it is particularly important to make sure that no person faces any kind of discriminatory treatment based on vaccination status," Ferguson said.
Democrats voted against the measure. Once the Senate approves the change, the bill faces a possible veto by Gov. Mike DeWine, who has said he doesn’t like the idea of lawmakers telling businesses how they can run their operations.
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