LINCOLN, Nebraska (LifeSiteNews) — Nebraska’s legislature passed a bill Friday that requires employers to recognize medical and religious exemptions for COVID jab mandates. The legislation is on Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts’ desk.
Legislative Bill 906 passed 35-7. It will create a standard form through the state Department of Health and Human Services that employees can submit to their employers.
The legislation requires employers to exempt employees who provide them with a medical or religious exemption form. However, federal contractors and healthcare facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding are still bound by the federal vaccine mandates still in place.
Employers can require employees to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) or undergo COVID testing, but the company must pay for both.
The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, Nebraska Medical Association, and Nebraska Health Care Association opposed the legislation.
LifeSiteNews emailed Ricketts’ communications director Alex Reuss on Monday morning but did not receive a reply on whether the governor would sign the legislation.
It is similar to a bill passed and signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in November 2021 that requires employers to recognize a broad list of jab exemptions.
“Nobody should lose their job due to heavy-handed COVID mandates and we had a responsibility to protect the livelihoods of the people of Florida,” Gov. DeSantis said at the November 18 bill signing.