No student shall be required, as a condition of school attendance or participation in school-sponsored extracurricular activities, to be immunized against COVID-19 or to undergo any testing policy as an alternative to a COVID-19 vaccination. No public institution of higher education shall require a COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 diagnostic testing for a student to access facilities, services, or activities, including in-class attendance. No child attending any day care center, pre-school, or nursery school shall be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of attendance.

Under this act, no employer shall require employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment without permitting employees to be exempted for religious, philosophical, medical reasons, including pregnancy, or previous exposure to and recovery from COVID-19. The employer shall not require the employee to provide any explanations or proof regarding his or her religious or philosophical beliefs or medical conditions relating to requesting the vaccination exemption. The Department of Health and Senior Services shall develop and make available to employers and employees a form that employees may use to request an exemption. No employer shall require an employee to undergo testing as an alternative to a COVID-19 vaccination.

No employer shall terminate, fail to promote, discipline, retaliate, or otherwise discriminate against an employee or prospective employee who requests a vaccination exemption. A prospective, current, or former employee may bring a civil action against the employer for violations of this act and shall be entitled to relief as described in the act, including back pay or reinstatement, damages, injunctive relief, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

Finally, this act provides that failing to receive a vaccination against COVID-19 shall not be considered misconduct on the part of an employee under the employment security law if receiving the vaccination would violate the employee's religious or philosophical beliefs or if the vaccine is medically contraindicated for the employee. Additionally, the act provides that any claimant for unemployment compensation benefits shall not be ineligible for such benefits if the claimant is unemployed due to being discharged from employment for failure to receive a vaccination against COVID-19 if the claimant failed to receive the vaccination because doing so would violate the claimant's religious or philosophical beliefs or if the vaccine is medically contraindicated for the claimant.

SARAH HASKINS