Second Regular Session S.B. 1567
PROPOSED
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO S.B. 1567
(Reference to printed bill)
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Repeal
Section 23-206, Arizona Revised Statutes, is repealed.
Sec. 2. Title 23, chapter 2, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section 23-206, to read:
23-206. Employers; COVID-19 vaccination mandates; religious exemption; form; civil action; damages; definition
A. A private employer, including a health care institution as defined in section 36-401, may not impose a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for any full-time, part-time or contract employee without providing a religious exemption that allows an employee to opt out of the vaccination mandate on the basis of religious beliefs, including a sincerely held moral or ethical belief.
B. An employer may not:
1. Inquire into the veracity of an employee's religious, moral or ethical beliefs.
2. Discriminate against an employee regarding employment, wages or benefits based on the employee's vaccination status.
C. An employer shall allow an employee to claim a religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination mandate using the following form:
Religious exemption from COVID-19 Vaccination
Employee name __________________________________
Date of birth __________________________________
telePhone number __________________________________
Employer name __________________________________
Exemption statement:
Pursuant to section 23-206, Arizona Revised Statutes, I hereby declare that I am declining the COVID-19 vaccination because of my sincerely held religious belief.
Employee signature _______________________________
Date _______________________________
Employee name (print) _______________________________
NOTE: An employer may not inquire into the veracity of the employee's religious beliefs. This completed exemption statement requires the employer to allow the employee to opt out of the employer's COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
D. If an employer receives a completed exemption statement as prescribed in this section, the employer must allow the employee to opt out of the employer's COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Any employer that receives a request for a religious exemption pursuant to this section shall keep the request and the contents of the request in strict confidence and may not share them within that organization except to the extent absolutely necessary to process the request for exemption. Employers may not create a database of religious exemption requests or share the requests or the content of the requests with any other entity or individual, except as provided by law.
E. Notwithstanding any other law, If an employer denies a religious exemption and requires an employee to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as a prerequisite to or requirement for maintaining employment, the employer is liable to the employee for damages that result from a significant injury that is caused by receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.
F. A claimant who prevails under this section:
1. Shall be awarded actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorney fees or statutory damages of $500,000, whichever is greater.
2. In addition to an award under paragraph 1 of this Subsection, may recover exemplary damages.
G. For the purposes of this section, "COVID-19" means:
1. The novel coronavirus identified as sars-cov-2.
2. Any disease caused by sars-cov-2, its viral fragments or a virus mutating therefrom.
3. All conditions associated with the disease that are caused by sars-cov-2, its viral fragments or a virus mutating therefrom.
Sec. 3. Title 36, chapter 4, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding sections 36-425.09 and 36-425.10, to read:
36-425.09. Health care institutions; complaints; religious exemptions; investigations; civil penalties; definitions
A. An employee of a health care institution may file a complaint with the department if the health care institution did not offer the employee the form prescribed in section 23-206 or improperly applied or denied the employee's religious exemption and the employee's employment was terminated, including the functional equivalent of termination.
B. The department shall investigate all complaints received pursuant to subsection A of this section. The investigation, at a minimum, shall determine whether the health care institution imposed a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, whether the employee was offered and submitted a proper exemption statement pursuant to section 23-206 and whether the employee was terminated as a result of the health care institution not providing the employee a religious exemption from the vaccination mandate. If the department finds that the religious exemption was not offered or was improperly applied or denied and the employee's employment was terminated, including the functional equivalent of termination, the department shall notify the health care institution of its determination and allow the employer the opportunity to correct the noncompliance. If the health care institution does not correct the noncompliance, the department shall impose the following civil penalties:
1. For a health care institution with fewer than one hundred employees, not more than $1,000 per violation.
2. For a health care institution with one hundred employees or more, not more than $5,000 per violation.
C. The department may not impose a civil penalty on a health care institution that, before the issuance of a final ENFORCEMENT action, reinstates the terminated employee with back pay to the date the department received the complaint pursuant to this section.
D. Monies collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the health care professionals religious exemption fund established by section 36-425.10.
E. For the purposes of this section:
1. "COVID-19" has the same meaning prescribed in section 23-206.
2. "Functional equivalent of termination" means it is determined that either:
(a) The employee resigned under duress.
(b) The employer, through its actions, made working conditions so difficult or intolerable that a reasonable person in the employee's position would feel compelled to resign.
36-425.10. Health care professionals religious exemption fund; use
The health care professionals religious exemption fund is established consisting of civil penalties collected pursuant to section 36-425.09. The director shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. The department may spend monies in the fund only for the purposes of section 36-425.09.
Sec. 4. Health care professionals religious exemption committee; membership; duties; report; delayed repeal
A. The health care professionals religious exemption committee is established consisting of the following members:
1. Two members who are appointed by the governor and who are knowledgeable in the complications experienced by health care professionals as a direct result of being denied a religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccination mandate within the health care system in this state.
2. Four members who are appointed by the governor and who are licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, two of whom have been denied a religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccination mandate by their employers.
3. One member of the senate health and human services committee who is appointed by the president of the senate.
4. One member of the house of representatives health and human services committee who is appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
5. One member who is a representative of an organization that has experience litigating and representing health care professionals who are licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, in challenging vaccine mandates and supporting religious rights, who is appointed by the president of the senate.
B. The committee shall elect a chairperson at its first meeting.
C. The committee shall:
1. Examine the challenges of this state's health care professionals who were residents of this state at the time of termination of or coercion to resign from their employment with a health care institution as defined in section 36-401, Arizona Revised Statutes, as a direct result of being denied a religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
2. Make recommendations to the legislature regarding how the civil penalties collected pursuant to section 36-425.09, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, should be spent.
3. On or before November 1, 2022, submit a report of the committee's findings and recommendations to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and shall provide a copy of the report to the secretary of state.
D. Members of the committee are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes.
E. This section is repealed from and after October 31, 2023."
Amend title to conform