Janae Ruppert
The Wyoming Legislature began the 2023 General Session on January 10, 2023. At this early stage of the session, only two employment related bills have been introduced.
Prohibiting Mask, Vaccine and Testing Discrimination. House Bill 66, entitled “Prohibiting mask, vaccine and testing discrimination” seeks to prohibit discrimination based upon a person’s vaccination status, medical testing status, or use of a facial covering (i.e. mask). This bill is not limited to defining new categories of discrimination in the workplace but would prohibit imposing masking, testing or vaccination requirements as a condition for accessing publicly available goods and services. Notably, the bill is not limited to COVID-19, but extends to testing, masking or vaccination for any communicable disease. The bill would also repeal the immunization requirements for children and childcare and school employees.
A violation of this proposed law would subject a person to prosecution for a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment not to exceed one (1) year.
The language of the proposal leaves uncertainty about whether employment practices would be subject to the restrictions. However, the restrictions could have negative impacts on employers’ efforts to comply with reasonable accommodation requirements for immunocompromised disabled employees or customers, and to address workplace safety concerns that may arise if another pandemic were to occur. Applied broadly, the proposed legislation provides criminal penalties for any “person” who refuses service to, or denies access to, any individual based upon that individual’s vaccination status, refusal to wear a face covering or refusal to submit to medical testing. It also prohibits a business from displaying notices or advertisements requiring a person to wear a face covering, submit vaccination or medical testing status, as a condition for receiving the businesses goods, services or accessing the businesses facilities.
House Bill 66 is sponsored by 16 state representatives and two state senators. It has been introduced, but not yet assigned to a committee.
Employees-forced Microchip Implantation Prohibited. One group of legislators wants Wyoming to join several other states (IN, AR, CA, MI, MO, NV, NH, ND, OK, UT and WI) in prohibiting an employer from requiring employees to have a microchip device as a condition of employment. Senate File 72 would prohibit a Wyoming employer from requiring an employee to obtain a microchip implant as a condition of employment and sets the standard requirements for voluntary implants. The proposed legislation covers employers in both the private and public sector and includes independent contractors as employees. The legislation prohibits an employer from not only requiring an implant as a condition of employment, but further prohibits an employer from:
- Inquiring during an interview or on an application whether a prospective employee will consent to a microchip implant;
- Coercing an employee into consenting to a microchip implant;
- Retaliating or creating a hostile work environment for an employee who refuses to consent to a microchip implant;
- Withholding any advancement, salary or wage increase from an employee who refuses to consent to a microchip implant; or
- Terminating or dismissing an employee who refuses to consent to a microchip implant.
If an employee refuses to consent to implantation, an employer must provide this employee with reasonable accommodations to assist the employee in any job function that the microchip seeks to improve. If an employee provides voluntarily written consent to implantation of a microchip, the employer must provide the following to the employee:
- Allow the employee to remove the microchip at anytime;
- If the employee requests to remove the microchip, the employer must remove the microchip within thirty (30) days after the employees request;
- Pay all costs associated with implanting, maintaining and removing the microchip;
- Pay all medical costs that the employee incurs as a result of any bodily injury to the employee caused by the implantation or the microchip’s presence in the body;
- Disclose to the employee the data that will be maintained on or in the microchip and how the data will be used by the employer;
- Within thirty (30) days of the employees termination or separation from employment, the employer shall remove the microchip at the employer’s expense.
An employee who is terminated or separates may elect to retain the microchip, provided that the employee assumes responsibility for all costs associated with the microchip. Senate File 72 is sponsored by 8 state representatives and 6 state senators. It has not been assigned to a committee at this time.
Bottom Line. House Bill 66 may not be directly focused on employers, but , if adopted, its impacts may be felt by employers who regularly interact with the public. On the other hand, Senate File 72, will directly limit the employers’ use of microchip implants for employees. We are not aware of any Wyoming employers currently using employee microchip implants on a voluntary or mandatory basis and wonder whether Senate File 72 is a solution in search of a problem. We will continue to monitor its progress.
