WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) joined Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and colleagues, to introduce the Keeping Our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act. This bill would prevent essential workers in Wyoming and across the country from being fired due to President Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandate.
“From the earliest days of the pandemic, our frontline workers and first responders in Wyoming put themselves in harm’s way to respond to emergencies, to keep essential goods stocked and to care for the sick in our communities,” said Senator Lummis. “We should be celebrating their heroism, not punishing them for exercising their individual health freedoms. I’m proud to defend their rights and fight the Biden administration’s mandate.”
At a time when Wyoming businesses are struggling to hire employees, and essential services like hospitals, airlines, trucking companies and grocery stores are desperate for workers, the president’s mandate may result in the firing of countless essential employees. The Keeping Our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act would prevent that.
In August 2021, the U.S. economy had an astonishing 10.4 million job openings. As supermarket shelves sit empty and communities struggle to recover from the pandemic, essential workers in Wyoming and across the nation are under threat of losing their jobs if they choose not to take the COVID vaccine.
While these vaccines have proven to be safe and effective, the decision to get vaccinated is a personal one. People in Wyoming – especially the essential workers who showed up to work every day during the worst days of the pandemic – should not be forced into vaccination under the threat of losing their job.
Lummis joined Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) in introducing the legislation.
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