The Texas Workforce Commission has set up a hotline for employees to report workplaces requiring COVID-19 vaccine, KPRC 2′s sister-station KSAT reported.
As KSAT noted, “though the order would generally be superseded by federal orders, federal courts have temporarily struck down President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates on businesses, federal contractors and health care workers, meaning Abbott’s executive order remains in effect.”
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Under Executive Order GA-40, “no entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine by any individual, including an employee or a consumer, who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19.”
In a letter addressed to Texas employers, the Texas Workforce Commission states that despite President Joe Biden’s vaccine policies, which has ‘sown confusion’ among employers, Abbott’s executive order remains in effect.
“The federal government has sown confusion among employers and employees by issuing a series of COVID-19 vaccine mandates of dubious legality,” the letter reads. “But the law in Texas is on this point: An employers cannot impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on an employee who qualifies for an exemption for religious, personal, or medical reasons.”
According to the Texas Workforce Commission, employees “subjected to a vaccine mandate in violation of Executive Order GA-40″ are asked to email vaccine_job_loss@twc.texas.gov or call 800-939-6631.