Many Arkansans have been fired for refusing to submit to their employer’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Now a new state law will provide new exemptions to employer COVID vaccine mandates to protect employees from being terminated for not being vaccinated.
The exemption is for employees who can show immunity after having had COVID or who continually have a negative test which is conducted no more than once a week.
The Arkansas legislature passed the exemptions by identical Acts 1113 and 1115 back in October but the Acts are only now becoming effective. Because the Acts did not get enough votes to pass an emergency clause, the Acts had to wait until the 91st day after the session adjourned. The exemptions becomes effective on Friday, January 14, 2022. [i]
Here are the exemptions as listed in the Acts:
(b) The specific exemption process shall include options that allow the employee to produce either:
(1) A negative antigen detection test result or molecular diagnostic test result no more than one (1) time per week showing that the employee is not positive for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19); or
(2) Proof of immunity for the virus that causes coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) or its variants, including without limitation the presence of antibodies, T cell response, or proof of a positive coronavirus 2019 (COVID23 19) or its variants test, on a basis of two (2) times per year, not to exceed one (1) time every six (6) months, from a licensed healthcare provider.
For further details on the exemptions follow this link to Act 1115.
[i] https://ag-opinions.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2021-092.pdf
