Bills target vaccination privacy, mask mandates

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Two bills focusing on COVID-19 issues went before the Idaho House of Representatives this past week. One bill focuses on privacy of vaccination status at the workplace, while the other would prohibit face mask mandates throughout the state.

The first, House Bill 581 would criminalize employer vaccine requirements, and protect individuals who wish to keep their COVID-19 vaccination status private. The bill ensures they are not discriminated against upon hire or in the workplace, and addresses any emergency use authorized vaccine.

Representative Charlie Shepherd, R-Pollock, presented HB 581 to the floor Tuesday, using examples from his district, District 7, to demonstrate how people might be discriminated against if their vaccination status is public.

“Once in a while, this body has to play referee. We muddied the water on both sides of this issue, so now all of a sudden, we’re supposed to be there first and foremost for the rights of the individual,” he said.

The request for HB 581 stands largely on the subject of privacy, and recognizing the various reasons as to why an individual may not want to share their vaccination status as public information.

Representative Karey Hanks, R-St. Anthony, spoke in favor of the bill referencing medical records that are allowed to be kept private.

“This is a point where we need to protect our privacy because the government keeps encroaching on our privacy … I ask you to think about all of our families in our districts, the people that are begging us to stop mandating, to give them back the freedom that we had just two years ago,” Hanks said.

Some members of the House argued that this bill is unfair to employers that are protecting their best interests, and could benefit from knowing whether a new employee is vaccinated against the virus or not.

Representative Laurie Lickley, R-Jerome, said she was concerned about the state interfering with private business operations.

“Idaho is an at-will working state, I don’t want to change that,” Lickley said. “This really does focus on the employer to keep that individual on its payroll, regardless of their ability to perform their job. I think we need to let our businesses decide the safety protocols of their employees.”

Representative James  D. Ruchti, D-Pocatello, debated against HB 581, emphasizing the need to allow clients, employers and employees to feel safe in their work environment.

“I can’t believe this is where we are, telling private businesses what they can do with their property rights. That is wrong.”

After heavy debate, HB 581 passed with a somewhat divided 39-29 vote.

Meanwhile, the House also debated HB 631 which prohibits the state of Idaho, political subdivisions, and state officials from mandating face masks to slow the spread of contagious diseases, such as COVID-19.

On Monday, Hanks presented the bill to the House, arguing it was needed to help struggling students and how masks may be interfering with their education.

This bill was troublesome for some House members because of future possibilities regarding unforeseeable diseases, and the ongoing struggle with COVID-19 infection rates.

Representative Scott Syme, R-Caldwell, gave a sarcastic statement in disapproval of the bill, and further explained his criticism.

“[HB 631] says we’re clairvoyant — we know what’s going to happen in the future. We know there’ll never be another disease that we might need to have somebody say we need to wear a mask for,” he said.

Idaho has not set a statewide mask mandate during the entirety of the pandemic. Hanks said violations to the bill’s ban could result in a lawsuit, but there is no enforcement set.

To close debate, Hanks asked House members to look around the floor and see how many members were actually wearing a face mask; only a handful were.

“We have that choice, there are people in our different state offices and our school districts that do not get that choice,” she said.

The bill passed the House with a 46-24 vote, and goes to the Idaho Senate for further debate and vote.

Jessica Megis is an intern with the University of Idaho McClure Center for Public Policy Research and the UI JAMM News Service.