Kansas state lawmakers move to protect employees who refuse COVID-19 vaccine

Kansas state lawmakers are pushing to enact legislation that will protect workers who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The state’s Senate president, Ty Masterson (R), urged lawmakers Tuesday to reconvene for a special session before Thanksgiving to consider proposals that will make it easier for workers to use religious exemptions from vaccine mandates, The Associated Press reported.

The proposals also push for workers to get unemployment benefits if they’re fired for not getting the shot. 

Masterson blasted what he called “all this garbage” from the Biden administration, the AP reported.

The GOP-controlled legislature is able to call a special session without Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly if two-thirds of lawmakers sign a petition.

The state legislature’s Special Committee on Government Overreach and the Impact of COVID-19 Mandates on Tuesday endorsed calling a special session soon, the AP reported. State Rep. Stephen Owens (R), a member of the panel, told the outlet that “we now have a plan.”

The news comes after Kelly last week came out against President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees, arguing that it’s not the “correct” or “most effective” strategy for combating the virus.