SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Those who had been using a state law interpretation to avoid employer requirements for COVID-19 testing, masks and vaccines will no longer be able to after an amendment was signed by Gov. JB Pritzker.
Senate Bill 1169 clarifies the legislative intent of the Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which was meant to allow medical professionals to object to receive or participate in health care services contrary to their personal beliefs. This included religious or moral objections to specific services such as abortions.
The governor's office said the act had been "improperly invoked" to allow people to evade employer COVID-19 requirements. This has put customers, staff and community members at risk "by exposing employers to legal retaliation for enacting life-saving public health measures," a press release said.
Leaders said the amendment clarifies it is not a violation of the act "to take workplace measures intended to prevent the spread of deadly, communicable diseases like COVID-19."
“Masks, vaccines, and testing requirements are life-saving measures that keep our workplaces and communities safe,” Pritzker said. “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.”
“With Governor Pritzker’s signature today, we continue our effort to keep the people of this state as safe as possible,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D- Westchester). “Despite deliberate attempts to misinform the public, nothing about this law takes away anyone’s rights to claim religious or medical exemption, which are protected by federal law. While only a small minority of people are skirting COVID-19 requirements, our goal is to make sure workers in high-risk environments are doing what’s needed to fulfill their responsibility to public health and keep everyone alive and healthy.”
Senate Bill 1169 takes effect June 1, 2022.
