Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker on Monday signed a COVID-19 amendment into law that bars employees from using moral beliefs as reason to be exempted from vaccine mandates in the workplace.
“Masks, vaccines, and testing requirements are lifesaving measures that keep our workplaces and communities safe,” Pritzker said in a statement.
“People and organizations hold different beliefs about whether certain health care services are morally acceptable,” the law states, adding that the public policy of Illinois state is “to respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons” for making such decisions.
Pritzker, a Democrat, said of his decision to sign the new amendment into law, “Keeping workplaces safe is a high priority, and I applaud the General Assembly for ensuring that the Health Care Right of Conscience Act is no longer wrongly used against institutions who are putting safety and science first.”
According to The Associated Press, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, a Democrat, had pressed Pritzker to push legislation that would explain that the 1998 law was not intended to apply to a pandemic.
Pritzker said Tuesday that the new amendment, SB 1169, would ensure the law “is no longer wrongly used against institutions who are putting safety and science first.”
The amendment is set to be enforced from June 1, 2022.
Speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois Democratic Rep. Robyn Gabel described the amendment to the law as a “critical action.”
“While this law will not take away anyone’s right to claim exemptions based on religion or medical need, it prevents a small group of people from distorting the meaning of the Health Care Right of [Conscience] Act and putting some of our most vulnerable members of society in danger,” Gabel said.
Republicans have criticized the measure as an overreach by the Democratic governor.
