The state says the mandate violates Florida’s ban on requiring proof of vaccination, which is subject to a $5,000 fine per infraction.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is asking Leon County to pay $3.57 million because it imposed a Covid-19 vaccine mandate despite the state’s “vaccine passport” ban, potentially the first in a series of punishments Florida could levy as it goes after businesses and governments for allegedly violating its prohibition on proof of vaccination. “It is unacceptable that Leon County violated Florida law, infringed on current and former employees’ medical privacy, and fired loyal public servants because of their personal health decisions,” DeSantis said in a statement Tuesday. “We will continue fighting for Floridians’ rights and the Florida Department of Health will continue to enforce the law.” In an interview with the Democrat Tuesday, Long said the county was “taking all of the legal steps necessary to defend” its public health measures and called DeSantis’ response to the local government’s mandate “unfortunate.” “We plan to assert our legal rights to support the actions we’ve taken, which we believe are not only completely legally justifiable but are the most responsible thing we could do in this case,” Long said. Leon County’s punishment could be the first of many, as the Florida Department of Health released a list Monday of more than 100 entities that are “under review” for potentially violating the state’s vaccine passport ban.
