Florida Administrative Code › 73 - DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE › 73B - Division of Workforce Services › Chapter 73BER21 - EMERGENCY RULE FOR YEAR 2021 › Section 73BER21-1 - Determinations Regarding Discharges 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), Florida Statutes.
(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), Florida Statutes. If the Attorney General imposed a fine against
				the private employer for failing to comply with sections  381.00317(1)  and
				 381.00317(2), Florida Statutes, 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), Florida Statutes, 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), Florida Statutes. 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), Florida
				Statutes.
(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), Florida Statutes, or a governmental entity, as that
				term is defined in section  768.38, Florida Statutes, for the claimant's refusal
				to comply with a COVID-19 vaccination mandate imposed by the educational
				institution or governmental entity.
(5) Educational Institution and Governmental
				Entity Responsibilities. 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 sections 381.00317(6)(b) and
					 112.0441(4), Florida Statutes. Laws Implemented sections  381.00317(5)  and
					  112.0441(3), Florida Statutes.