Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which is requiring all crew and passengers to be fully vaccinated, is suing Florida's surgeon general over a state law banning businesses and others from requesting that people show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. We've gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other trusted media outlets.
Norwegian's Policy
Norwegian will require full vaccination for all crew and passengers, including children, for initial sailings through Oct. 31. If that policy is maintained in Florida, the company could be fined as much as $5,000 for each passenger. In its lawsuit, Norwegian asked the district court to block and declare unlawful the enforcement of the ban on requiring proof of vaccination. Norwegian said the spread of the Delta variant is one reason for its vaccination decision. A spokeswoman for Florida state government said the cruise line company's position discriminated against children and individuals who can't be vaccinated. She also noted the state's legal efforts against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) sailing restrictions.
Florida's Ban
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on May 3 that barred businesses, schools and government entities across Florida from asking anyone to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination. "I think folks that are saying that they need to be policing people at this point—if you're saying that, you really are saying you don't believe in the vaccines, you don't believe in the data, you don't believe in the science," DeSantis said that day. "We are no longer in the state of emergency." Offenders can be fined up to $5,000 per incident. But these entities can institute screening protocols if they are "consistent with authoritative or controlling government-issued guidance to protect public health." Licensed health care providers are exempted from the vaccine documentation provision.
Florida's law does not mention employees.
DeSantis Stands by the State's Policy
"Our state policy is our state policy," DeSantis said May 13. "Cruise lines have been operating in other parts of the world where there's no access to vaccine[s]," he said. "These cruise lines are ready to go: Royal Caribbean, Carnival." DeSantis said the CDC "mothballed the [cruise line] industry for over a year." The governor and the state have sued the CDC and the federal government over the pause on cruising, demanding that cruises be allowed to resume from the U.S. immediately. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment directly on the lawsuit when it was announced in April, reiterating only that "the CDC guidance is based on data and health and medical guidelines."
(WESH 2 in Orlando and The Washington Post)
Judge Sides with Florida in Its Lawsuit Against CDC
Last month, a judge sided with Florida in its lawsuit over the federal government's cruise-industry restrictions. The district court judge granted the state's request for a preliminary injunction barring the CDC from enforcing a conditional-sailing order the agency put in place in October. In the conditional-sailing order, the CDC established a framework for cruise lines to restart operations by completing several phases, including test sailings—requirements that the cruise industry said were too burdensome. The judge said Florida was likely to prevail in its claim that the CDC exceeded its authority in issuing the conditional-sailing order.
Do State Bans on Vaccine Passports Impact Employer Policies?
Officials in several states are blocking businesses and government agencies from requiring people to produce vaccine passports—documentation that they've been vaccinated against COVID-19. But in most of these states, private employers can continue to ask whether workers are vaccinated, and employers in some locations may be obligated to do so.
[Want to learn more? Join us at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2021, taking place Sept. 9-12 in Las Vegas and virtually.]
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