Texas COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Ban for Employers
Governor Abbott to Texas Employers: No More Imposed COVID-19 Vaccines as of February 2024
By Mark Zeidman, Shareholder/Employment Law AttorneyOn Nov. 10, 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law SB 7, which bans private employers of any size from imposing or enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates as a condition of employment. The law will take effect on February 6, 2024.
Specifically, under the law, a covered employer will not be permitted to:
- Adopt or enforce a mandate requiring an employee, contractor, or applicant for employment or a contract position to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment or a contract position; or
- Take an adverse action against an employee, contractor, applicant for employment or a contract position for a refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
An “adverse action” is defined as “an action taken by an employer that a reasonable person would consider was for the purpose of punishing, alienating, or otherwise adversely affecting an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract position.”
Limited Exception to Note
The law contains a limited exception for healthcare facilities and providers, which “may establish and enforce a reasonable policy that includes requiring the use of protective medical equipment by an individual who is an employee or contractor of the facility, provider, or physician and who is not vaccinated against COVID-19 based on the level of risk the individual presents to patients from the individual’s routine and direct exposure to patients.”
Enforcement & Penalties
The new law will be enforced by the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”). Workers or applicants may file complaints with the TWC if they believe they suffered an adverse action under the law.
Employers who violate the law may be fined an administrative penalty of $50,000 for each violation, unless the employer: (i) hires the applicant for employment or contract position; or (ii) reinstates the employee or contractor and provides them with back pay and reestablishment of employee benefits from the date the adverse action took place. The TWC may also recover from the employer “reasonable investigative costs” incurred by the TWC in conducting the investigation, regardless of whether the employer took the mitigating actions noted above.
The law will apply only to actions taken by an employer that occur on or after February 6, 2024.
As co-leader of FBFK’s intellectual property practice group, Kubasta focuses on a wide array of intellectual property, with particular emphasis on patent, trademark, and trade dress litigation and licensing. He has extensive litigation experience, advising both plaintiffs and defendants, in Federal Court – both trial and through appeal – as well as in Texas state court. Kubasta is a nine-time The Best Lawyers in America honoree, recently served as a Board Member of TeXchange DFW, and works with various non-profit organizations.A three-time “Ones to Watch” honoree and an attorney and shareholder at FBFK, Smiley has more than a decade of bankruptcy and reorganization law experience, with specific expertise in all steps of the Chapter 11 reorganization process, including asset sales, plan confirmation, and post-confirmation plan administration. She also has experience litigating a variety of disputes, including contested matters and adversary proceedings. Smiley is a Member of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and the Dallas Bar Association – Bankruptcy and Commercial Law section, a Global Executive Board Member of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) and has served as Chair of the DFW network of IWIRC (International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation).
