California Assembly Bill No. 1993 Would Require Public and Private Companies to Employ Vaccinated Workers

Ongoing Updates…

For those of you in California, I will be continually updating this page with the most recent information I find just below the History table.

Read AB No. 1993 (12940.4) CA Legislative Website »

AB 1993 History

March 24, 2022

From The National Law Review(opens new window):

If passed in its current form, AB 1993 would require that employers affirm compliance as to each employee on January 1, 2023. However, the bill also prohibits employers from retaining proof of employees’ vaccination status without the employees’ or contractors’ authorization. Thus, in the event that any employees or contractors refuse to provide such authorization, it is unclear how any employer could hope to comply. As of the date of this posting, AB 1993 is pending in committee. We will continue to monitor its progress.

It seems to me if the employers are only prohibited from retaining the document, that they could verify you are vaccinated and then return the document to the employee. Maybe I’m missing something.

Feb. 19, 2022

The OSHA website says this:

Under the bill, employers would need to comply with the new mandate, having clear documentation of employee vaccination records and any vaccine exemptions to avoid penalties from California’s division of Occupational Safety and Health.

I’m no attorney, but is it even lawful to require someone to show private medical information to be employed? Oh wait, silly me, I forgot, the law seems to be arbitrarily applied these days. Move along. Latte?

From Buffy (Buffy Wicks, District 15 Assemblymember) the Unvaxxed Slayer‘s Government Webpage:

AB 1993 would require new hires of a business to have at least one shot by their first day on the job, and the second within 45 days. The bill includes no option for a testing alternative unless an employee qualifies for a medical or religious exemption.

“Our essential workers have been the linchpin of our communities during COVID, showing up every day to make sure people have what they need while being disproportionately impacted themselves,” said Jim Araby, Director of Strategic Campaigns, UFCW Local 5. “Now, AB 1933 will give California workers what they’ve deserved since Day One of this pandemic: the ability to feel safe, to feel valued, and to feel protected in their workplace.”

“Employees deserve safe workplaces, and we know vaccines are key to keeping us safe as individuals and as a community,” said Crystal Strait, Board Chair of ProtectUS. “Despite the partisan rhetoric and vitriol, Asm. Wicks is stepping above the fray to make sure we make progress in moving safely to an endemic state. On behalf of the pro-vaxx [sic] majority in the US, we wholeheartedly support this effort to make workplaces safe.”

I guess I’ll just let those speak for themselves.

Feb. 17, 2022

From the Mercury News:

“I have a whole bunch of problems with this,” said Matt Shupe, chair of the Contra Costa County GOP. “I think a bill like this only doubles down on the division and the fighting and it’s really unfortunate.”

The proposal, Shupe said, forces every business to be “an enforcer on their employees,” and puts people who don’t want to be vaccinated in an impossible position.

“Are we forcing them to become homeless? How is that good policy?” he said, adding that he thinks the state risks losing jobs or tax revenue if the mandate passes.

The situation is not an impossible one, though it will be a difficult one. Don’t get vaccinated. The risk you take with these vaccines is not worth it. Move out of the state. I know that won’t be easy, but it’s the best choice.

Here’s something from the bill that I have not mentioned:

This section shall remain operative until the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices determines that COVID-19 vaccinations are no longer necessary for the health and safety of individuals, and as of that date is repealed. [emphasis mine]

I guess I won’t hold my breath on that one…

From KCRA3:

Small Business Majority, an advocacy organization, supports the bill.

“Coronavirus variants continue to disrupt business operations and create financial uncertainty for small businesses in California and throughout the country,” said Small Business Majority Founder and CEO John Arensmeyer. “Small business owners don’t want to be traffic cops in debates about public safety; they are looking for a common statewide standard that disentangles them from politics and enables them to operate their businesses safely and predictably. We must enact bold policies that will give California small businesses the certainty they need to operate at capacity and help them get back to normal.”

This is flawed logic. No one has to be traffic cop if the state simply drops all mandates and lets people live their lives as free citizens with their constitutional liberties intact.

Feb. 16, 2022

On Healthcare Finance:

The bill comes in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision blocking President Biden’s nationwide vaccine mandate for large employers, leaving vaccine rules and implementation up to individual states. With responsibilities falling on individual state legislatures, the [California] lawmakers aim to carry the workplace safety requirements into law on the state level.

This article also reiterates that businesses that do not comply would face fines and penalties. In the same article John Swartzberg, Infectious Disease Expert at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, said:

When people are vaccinated, the world is safer – businesses are more stable, their employees and patrons better protected.

They just keep pushing the same illogical statements. This one reminds me of “safe and effective.”

In other news, here are some great quotes by that brilliant scientific mind, the author of this despicable bill, Buffy Wicks:

The pathway to endemic is through vaccines – and to get there, Californians need consistency and certainty. [Quoted on KRON4.]

And my favorite:

People have experienced so much whiplash over the past couple years when it comes to ever-changing guidelines in the workplace. Workers are craving stability, and vaccines are the key to making that happen. [Quoted on KRON4.]

The whiplash, Buffy (Buffy Wicks, District 15 Assemblymember) the Unvaxxed Slayer, has all been caused by the Federal and California Governments. The stability we want is not encompassed in mandates.

Feb. 15, 2022

• Article on the L.A. Times (need subscription to read)
• California News is also reporting this
• The Sacramento Bee is also reporting this
  The author of the bill, Buffy Wicks, is quoted as saying:

  That’s fundamentally what this bill is about,” she said. “Getting back to some sense of normalcy so we can go on with our lives, and we don’t have these constant interruptions and outbreaks and all these things that we’ve been experiencing for so long.

  We’re only experiencing all these things because of the overreach, by a long shot, of our government. It has nothing to do with COVID.

Feb. 14, 2022

From the Daily Clout. Visit this link to leave your vote against.

Feb. 13, 2022

The bill has only been available for a few days, but there is not much on it that I could find. This bill seems like a pretty big deal and it would seem to be one that major news organizations would be covering, unless it seems politically expedient not to. Requiring all employees in your state to be vaccinated and requiring all employers (both public and private) to enforce it is a big deal in my book. I’ll see if any major sources report on it this week.

You can oppose the bill here: https://californiapolicycenter.org/take-action/

The following comes from this website: https://www.natlawreview.com/

AB 1993 (also known as Government Code Section 12940.4) would go in to effect on January 1, 2023, if passed in the legislature and signed by the governor. [emphasis mine]

I would assume this would pass as the legislature and obviously the governor are mostly leftists / democrats.

The following comes from this website: https://trialsitenews.com/

Although the number of new cases has been on a steep decline since a rise due to the Omicron variant, the California elected representatives seek employers to drive full vaccination—it doesn’t seem that prior infection is sufficient despite ever more studies pointing to evidence of natural immunity.

Well, of course. Why truly follow the science when you’re only interested in power and control?

I wrote this email to Buffy Wicks (D) the primary author of the bill:

Hi Buffy,

This new bill that you have introduced is reprehensible. After the Supreme Court’s decision regarding vaccine mandates at the federal level I’m surprised you would attempt to get something like this passed. Actually, I’m not, considering the last few years here in my home state.

This bill does not have the support of the majority of people in California. See the California Policy Center website: https://californiapolicycenter.org/bills/vaccination-for-employment/

If the bill passes I and many, many others will be leaving our once great state that has been ruined in the last few years by failed policies, most of which I suspect you support.

Have a nice day.

Glen Draeger

I’m currently calling Buffy by a different name: Buffy (Buffy Wicks, District 15 Assemblymember) the Unvaxxed Slayer. Here is a list of the co-authors of the bill obtained from this website: https://californiapolicycenter.org/. Never forget that these people want to force you to be vaccinated.

• Buffy Wicks (D) – Primary Author
  Buffy (Buffy Wicks, District 15 Assemblymember) the Unvaxxed Slayer
• Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D)
• Evan Low (D)
• Akilah Weber (D)
• Josh Newman (D)
• Richard Pan (D)
• Scott Wiener (D)
• Bill Quirk (D)
• Mark Stone (D)
• Bill Dodd (D)

Feb. 11, 2022

As the title says this bill includes both public and private employers and also independent contractors.

12940.4. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or any other law, an employer shall require each employee or independent contractor to provide proof to the employer, or an authorized agent thereof, that the person has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

It also says:

This bill would repeal these provisions when the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices determines that COVID-19 vaccinations are no longer necessary for the health and safety of individuals.

Yeah, well, I guess I won’t hold my breath on that one. But don’t worry brave, protected citizens, the government has your back:

This bill would establish an exception from this vaccination requirement for a person who is ineligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine due to a medical condition or disability or because of a sincerely held religious belief, as specified, and would require compliance with various other state and federal laws.

I want to know who is going to determine if the employee’s religious belief is sincere? Is that going to be one of the fact checkers from Facebook or Twitter?

Just pack up and move, folks. The midwest is looking better and better.

Seriously, I live in California so I’ll be watching this one. I will be making edits on this page.