I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.
By a straight party vote of 15-10, The Republican majority on the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee approved HB262. The bill assures workers in Pennsylvania, even those employed in the private sector, that the state will help them prevent their employers from denying employees the freedom to become infected with and possibly die from Covid-19.
The bill will also prevent employers from be able to take away employees’ freedom to spread the disease to co-workers and other unvaccinated people with whom they might come in contact with in their work places.
The Democrats on the committee, uncharacteristically opted for a more free-market-like approach, by a vote of 10-0. While Republicans will claim to have chosen to protect the freedom of workers seeking the right to get sick an die from Covid, Democrats will probably counter (perhaps uncharacteristically) that employers have rights too, including the right to not employ individuals who have not been vaccinted.