# Plain Language Summary: Freedom from Mandates Act

This bill would cancel two executive orders from the Biden administration that required COVID-19 vaccinations for federal employees and federal contractors. It would also prevent the Secretary of Labor from creating any new rules that require private employers to mandate vaccines or testing for their employees. Additionally, the bill would prohibit the federal government from requiring healthcare providers—like hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics—to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their staff as a condition of receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding.

In practical terms, this means that if this bill became law, employers across the country would no longer face federal requirements to enforce vaccine mandates or testing policies for COVID-19. Federal workers who were previously required to be vaccinated would no longer be subject to that requirement. Healthcare facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs would also be freed from any federal vaccine mandate requirements. However, it's important to note that individual employers, states, and healthcare facilities could still choose to implement their own vaccine policies if they wanted to—this bill only prevents the federal government from mandating such policies.

The bill essentially shifts decision-making power away from federal mandates and back to individual employers and healthcare providers. Some people see this as protecting personal freedom and employer flexibility, while others worry it could lead to inconsistent health and safety practices across different workplaces and healthcare settings. The practical impact would depend on what policies individual employers and healthcare facilities choose to adopt on their own.

Freedom from Mandates Act

Biggs, Andy

Freedom from Mandates Act This bill nullifies certain executive orders regarding COVID-19 safety and prohibits the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services (HHS) from taking specified actions with respect to vaccination against COVID-19. Specifically, the bill nullifies Executive Order 14042 (relating to ensuring adequate COVID-19 safety protocols for federal contractors) and Executive Order 14043 (requiring COVID-19 vaccination for federal employees). Labor may not issue any rule requiring employers to mandate vaccination of employees against COVID-19 or requiring testing of employees who are unvaccinated. HHS may not (1) require a health care provider, as a condition of participation in the Medicare or Medicaid program, to mandate vaccination of employees against COVID-19 or require testing of employees who are unvaccinated; or (2) otherwise penalize such a provider for failure to mandate such vaccination or require such testing.