Newly Proposed Bill In SC Would Make Asking Someone’s Vaccine Status Illegal
Michael Cantrell
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A newly proposed piece of legislation in the state of South Carolina would make it illegal to ask a person’s vaccine status if it were passed into law.
The “Don’t Ask” bill would make asking whether or not a person has taken the coronavirus vaccine a misdemeanor crime.
“The government has no place in making you or telling you to take the vaccination or threatening your livelihood if you don’t,” state Rep. William Chumley, who co-sponsored the bill, went on to say.
The language of the legislation says, “Any representative of a public, private, or nonprofit entity … who inquires about Covid-19 vaccination status … must be fined not more than $14,000 or imprisoned not more than one year.”
Chumley said the bill addresses a “freedom and job protection issue,” adding that current labor shortages can be blamed in large part on vaccine mandates barring workers from returning to the workforce.
“South Carolina didn’t want to get in this fight,” Chumley said. “It was brought to us by the federal government.”
“States have a right to impose certain laws if they want to, and to not impose others we feel are unconstitutional,” he added.
Labor law attorney Jeremy Summerlin of Greenville called the proposal impractical to implement.
“When you work it out practically, how it would play out in the real world, it’s insane,” he stated. “You put employers in an impossible position.”
“What if you ask your coworker about their vaccination status, and you are just having a conversation?” Summerlin then asked. “What if you are a nurse and you ask a fellow nurse about it? Do you want the local law enforcement to go in and arrest them because of this law?”
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