TLRC position
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2023 · Health · Religious Liberty
Secures religious exemptions to vaccination requirements for employees.
HB 0637 / SB 1109
Bill description
Employees, Employers - As introduced, requires an employer that requires an immunization as a condition of employment or continued employment to exempt from the immunization requirement a person who files a signed, written statement that the immunization conflicts with the person’s religious tenets or practices; prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against a person who files a statement of religious objection.
Employees, Employers - As introduced, requires an employer that requires an immunization as a condition of employment or continued employment to exempt from the immunization requirement a person who files a signed, written statement that the immunization conflicts with the person’s religious tenets or practices; prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against a person who files a statement of religious objection.
Bill sponsors
TLRC statement
Requires an employer that requires an immunization as a condition of employment or continued employment to exempt from the immunization requirement a person who files a signed, written statement that the immunization conflicts with the person’s religious tenets or practices; prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against a person who files a statement of religious objection.
Simply put, in Tennessee, we should protect religious exemptions for individuals that have a religious objection to immunizations and those individuals should not have their livelihoods jeopardized.
This bill also authorizes a person who is injured as a result of a violation of these provisions to maintain a private right of action for injunctive relief and to recover compensatory damages and reasonable attorney’s fees against an alleged violator.