Arizona State Rep. Quang Nguyen introduced a bill to protect employees from potential damages caused by employers’ vaccine mandates. HB 2043, a piece of civil liability legislation, is intended to protect Arizonans from an entity or individual that requires vaccines as
a condition of employment.
Under Nguyen’s bill, an employer could be held liable for damages if an employee is denied a religious exemption and suffers significant injury caused by the mandated vaccine.
“This is one of the most important bills I’m introducing this coming session,” said Nguyen in a press release. “The reality is COVID-19 is going to be with us for a long time. Public and private health mandates are not a good solution and could instead cause harm in some cases. If businesses and employers are intent on mandating vaccinations as a condition of employment, they should be held accountable if their employees face serious harm or illness.”
According to Nguyen, some COVID-19 vaccines have already been granted liability protection from the federal government, limiting affected individuals in whom they can seek to hold accountable for an injury.
Current law only provides for an affected individual to seek recourse via the workers’ compensation system. HB 2043 creates a separate pathway for an employee to seek recourse if they have been denied a religious exemption and later suffered a significant injury because of the mandated vaccine.
Nguyen’s bill comes with teeth. It entitles an affected employee who prevails in a court of law to at least $500K in actual damages. The employee would also be able to seek punitive damages in cases where egregious or malicious conduct has occurred.