Not vaccinated? A new bill could protect you from being fired in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Hospitals and other employers who require workers be immunized against the flu, measles and other infectious diseases would not be able to fire or punish employees who refuse to receive such vaccines under a bill pending in Ohio's House.

Meanwhile, state senators added to the state budget bill a provision that would make it clear that private schools can deny enrollment to students who aren't vaccinated, even for religious reasons.

Ohio is the latest state to grapple with declining child-immunization rates amid growing numbers of families opting out of immunization requirements alongside outbreaks of measles and chickenpox. Vaccines are considered safe and effective for most people, and serious side effects are rare.

Many hospitals, health clinics and businesses require certain immunizations to prevent worker illness, which takes employees away from work, and protect their customers. For the health care industry, that often includes young, elderly and immunocompromised patients.

California just passed a law tightening its exemptions for medical conditions, three years after eliminating an exemption for "personal belief." New York state eliminated religious exemptions to vaccine requirements for schoolchildren earlier this month.

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About two-thirds of the state's children between the ages of 18 months and 3 years are immunized, putting Ohio's immunization rate at No. 45.  

There are several vaccination-related bills pending in the Ohio Statehouse. Anti-vaccine advocates are calling lawmakers, urging them to remove the budget bill language. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known environmentalist who has lobbied against vaccine requirements, spoke in Columbus Wednesday to a crowd of about 150, many wearing stickers opposing the budget bill and supporting the employee-exemption bill.

A hospital nurse who refused vaccinations

Michelle Krinsky said she was fired from her job as a nurse at Christ Hospital Health Network in Cincinnati after she declined to get a flu vaccine as required. Krinsky said vaccines weren't compatible with her vegan, health-minded lifestyle, but she relented to a hospital-mandated influenza vaccine in 2017 and became ill a few days later.

When she refused to get the shot during the next flu season, she said the hospital did not allow her to take unpaid leave, move to another department or wear a mask.

"How did we get to a point where informed consent is totally disregarded? That a corporation can force an employee to be injected with a biological product to keep their job?" Krinsky told advocates in Columbus Wednesday.

The bill would bar an employer from firing, demoting or taking another adverse action against an employee because the worker chose not to receive a required vaccination. The bill also allows employees to sue businesses for such actions.

The idea is not new to the Ohio Legislature, but past bills were limited to flu vaccines.

Rep. Ron Hood, R- Ashville, said the bill does not prevent employers from having a mandatory vaccine policy but protects an individual's right to refuse immunization under the policy.

The bill is opposed by professional medical organizations, including the Ohio Hospital Association, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and medical professionals.

Dr. Sherman Alter, chief of infectious diseases at Dayton Children’s Hospital, said the hospital will talk with an employee who doesn't want to get the flu vaccine to address their concerns. If there's a true risk of an adverse effect, he said, the hospital might require use of a mask or take other actions to reduce the risk of infection.

Alter said there's a perception that diseases like measles and chickenpox aren't dangerous, but he's seen patients die of such illnesses. Alter said the risk of a serious adverse reaction to an immunization is very, very small.

“We know from decades of research, when you look at the risk-benefits, the benefit far exceeds the risk,” Alter said.

Language to let private schools deny students

But new language in the state budget bill would make it clear that private schools can refuse to enroll students who don't meet immunization requirements, even if the parent has chosen not to immunize because of "reason of conscience," including religious convictions.

Public and private schools can already deny enrollment if students don't have evidence of receiving required shots by 14 days into the school year. State law provides exemptions for medical reasons or “reasons of conscience," including religious reasons.

Senate President Larry Obhof said senators thought private schools should have the option to deny admission. House Speaker Larry Householder told reporters Wednesday that representatives had concerns about the language and it would likely be removed.

The bill unanimously cleared the Senate last week and is being debated by a small committee of lawmakers from both parties and both the House and Senate. The bill must be signed by Gov. Mike DeWine before July 1.