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22LSO-0052
2022
STATE OF WYOMING
22LSO-0052
Numbered
2.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0032
Vaccine requirements-limitations.
Sponsored by: Joint Labor, Health & Social Services Interim Committee
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to public health and safety; requiring health care facilities, governmental entities and providers of essential services to offer reasonable accommodations as specified to persons unable or unwilling to provide proof of immunization; providing for a vaccine monitoring period before an immunization may be mandated for school children; providing that requiring immunization as a condition of employment is a discriminatory or unfair employment practice as specified; providing definitions; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
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W.S. 35
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4
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140 is created to read:
35
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4
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140.
Limitation on immunization requirements; health care facilities and publicly funded services.
(a)
A health care facility shall provide a reasonable accommodation to any person seeking to visit a patient or resident of the health care facility if the person is unable or unwilling to provide proof of immunization.
(b)
A governmental entity or public employee shall provide a reasonable accommodation, including through audio
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visual or computerized means, to any person seeking to access a publicly funded service if the person is unable or unwilling to provide proof of immunization.
(c)
As used in this section:
(i)
"Governmental entity" means as defined in W.S. 1
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39
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103(a)(i) and includes any "local government" as defined in W.S. 1
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39
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103(a)(ii);
(ii)
"Health care facility" means as defined in W.S. 35
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2
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901(a)(x);
(iii)
"Public employee" means any officer, employee, servant of, or any person providing services as an independent contractor of, a governmental entity;
(iv)
"Reasonable accommodation" means any change in policy, process, location or other appropriate measures that allows a person who is unable or unwilling to provide proof of immunization to visit a patient or resident of the health care facility or to access publicly funded services unless doing so would create an undue hardship or would pose a direct and unavoidable threat to the health or safety of the patient, resident or staff or other patients or residents of the health care facility.
Section 2
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W.S. 6
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9
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101 by creating a new subsection (b) and by renumbering (b) as (c), 21
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4
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309(d) by creating a new paragraph (iv) and 27
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9
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105(a) by creating a new paragraph (v) are amended to read:
6
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9
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101.
Equal enjoyment of public accommodations and facilities; penalties.
(b)
Any provider of an essential service or product shall provide a reasonable accommodation to any person seeking to obtain an essential service or product offered by the provider if the person is unable or unwilling to provide proof of immunization. As used in this subsection:
(i)
"Essential service or product" means any service or product provided by a pharmacy, drug store, physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, dentist, physical therapist, mental health specialist, kidney dialysis center, ambulance service, hospital, funeral home, grocery store, crisis shelter, bank or credit union, special needs transportation or gasoline station;
(ii)
"Reasonable accommodation" means any change in policy, process, location or other appropriate measures that allows a person who is unable or unwilling to provide proof of immunization to obtain an essential service or
product
unless doing so would create an undue hardship or pose a direct and unavoidable threat to the health or safety of the person or others.
(b)
(c)
A person who intentionally violates this section commits a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both.
21
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4
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309.
Mandatory immunizations for children attending schools; exceptions.
(d)
For purposes of this section:
(iv)
An immunization shall only be mandated after the expiration of a five (5) year period immediately following the beginning of the attendant federal post licensure vaccine safety monitoring period for pediatric patients as administered by the immunization safety office within the center for disease control.
27
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9
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105.
Discriminatory and unfair employment practices enumerated; limitations.
(a)
It is a discriminatory or unfair employment practice:
(v)
For an employer to require as a condition of employment that any employee or prospective employee be immunized for any preventable disease unless the requirement is strictly based on federal law or rule or the employer can demonstrate that an unimmunized employee would create an undue hardship or pose a direct threat to the health or safety of persons in the workplace that cannot be eliminated or reduced by means of a reasonable accommodation. As used in this paragraph, "reasonable accommodation" means any change to the application or hiring process, to the job, to the way the job is done or the work environment that allows an unimmunized person who is qualified for the job to perform the essential functions of that job and enjoy equal employment opportunities.
Section 3.
This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
(END)
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HB0032