Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina has introduced legislation that would block the secretary of labor from utilizing any funds to develop, promote, or enforce a rule obliging employers to require that their workers either get vaccinated against COVID-19 or get tested for the illness.
“No funds may be used by the Secretary of Labor to draft, promulgate, or enforce a rule mandating that employers require employees to be vaccinated against or tested for COVID–19,” the text of the bill states.
The Justice for All Businesses, or JAB Act, also states that, “The Secretary of Labor shall not assess civil monetary or criminal penalties under section 17 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 666) for violations of a rule mandating that employers require employees to be vaccinated against or tested for COVID–19.”
The legislation, which likely has no chance of making it through the Democrat-controlled House chamber, comes amid anticipation of the issuance of a rule to require companies with 100 or more employees to ensure that workers are fully vaccinated or that they furnish a negative test each week.
“Forced injections mandated by the federal government are nothing short of subsidized medical apartheid,” Cawthorn said in a statement included in a news release. “There is nothing American about ripping financial stability away from the American people simply because they choose to make medical decisions for themselves.
“I’m proud to introduce this bill denying the federal government and Joe Biden the chance to trample on Americans any further. This is not a matter of health, it’s a matter of liberty. There are patriots across the nation who would rather see their jobs ripped away from them then lose their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I stand with them to defend freedom at all costs.”
Several other GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia, Tracey Mann of Kansas, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Randy Weber of Texas, joined Cawthorn as original cosponsors, according to the release.