Florida Administrative Code › 73 - DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE › 73B - Division of Workforce Services › Chapter 73B-11 - UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS AND BENEFITS; FLORIDA UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION CLAIMS AND BENEFITS › Section 73B-11.0201 - Determinations Regarding Discharge for Noncompliance with a COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) A claimant
				will not be disqualified from receiving Reemployment Assistance benefits if the
				claimant is discharged from a private employer for the claimant's refusal to
				comply with the private employer's COVID-19 vaccination mandate and the private
				employer did not offer and properly apply the exemption requirements listed in
				Section  381.00317(1),
				F.S.
(2) Private Employer
				Responsibilities. The private employer has the burden to prove that the private
				employer offered and properly applied the COVID-19 vaccination mandate
				exemptions listed in Section
				 381.00317(1),
				F.S. If the Attorney General imposed a fine against the private employer for
				failing to comply with Section
				 381.00317, F.S. the private
				employer cannot meet its burden with respect to any claimant that was denied an
				exemption as a result of such failure.
(3) Claimant Responsibilities. If a claimant
				has been discharged from employment with a private employer due to the
				claimant's noncompliance with his or her private employer's COVID-19
				vaccination mandate and the private employer provides information to the
				Department of Economic Opportunity that shows the private employer offered and
				properly applied the COVID-19 vaccination mandate exemptions listed in Section
				 381.00317(1),
				F.S., the claimant must provide a copy of the document that was submitted to
				his or her private employer specifying that the claimant qualified for an
				exemption under Section
				 381.00317(1),
				F.S. This documentation will be submitted by the claimant to the Department of
				Economic Opportunity during the fact-finding process, which is initiated by the
				Department of Economic Opportunity. If the claimant cannot provide a copy of
				this document, he or she must provide a signed document attesting to the fact
				that he or she did submit a request to opt out of the private employer's
				COVID-19 vaccination mandate and was eligible for a qualified exemption
				pursuant to Section  381.00317(1),
				F.S.
(4) A claimant will not be
				disqualified from receiving Reemployment Assistance benefits if the claimant is
				discharged from an educational institution, as that term is defined in Section
				 112.0441(1)(b),
				F.S., or a governmental entity, as that term is defined in Section
				 112.0441(c),
				F.S., for the claimant's refusal to comply with a COVID-19 vaccination mandate
				imposed by the educational institution or governmental entity.
(5) The educational institution or
				governmental entity has the burden to prove that the claimant was not
				discharged for the claimant's refusal to comply with a COVID-19 vaccination
				mandate imposed by the educational institution or governmental
				entity.
Rulemaking Authority
					 112.0441(4),
					 381.00317(6)
					 FS. Law Implemented 112.0441(3),
					 381.00317(5)
					 FS.
New 5-18-22.