PHOENIX — Get vaccinated, get a weekly COVID Test, or lose your job. These are the choices facing more and more workers across the country after the federal government and companies nationwide announced new policies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Joe Biden is requiring the vaccination of all government employees in the executive branch and requiring companies with 100 or more employees to require vaccination or weekly COVID testing.
Legal challenges, including those here in Arizona, await the plan. However, if you decide to not follow the new policy, could you lose out on your unemployment benefits?
THE QUESTION:
Can you lose unemployment benefits if you are fired for not obeying a vaccine mandate?
THE SOURCES:
George Finn, Attorney with Rose Law Group
Arizona State law: ARS. 23-601 and ARS 23-619.01
THE ANSWER:
Yes, with few exceptions, you can lose your unemployment benefits if you are fired for not following an employer's vaccine policy.
WHAT WE FOUND:
“In Arizona, you are ineligible for unemployment benefits if you are fired for misconduct. That includes violating a company policy,” George Finn, an attorney with the Rose Law Group, said. "An employer can essentially impose conditions to employment as long as they are not discriminatory.”
Arizona state law backs that up. ARS 23-619.01 details misconduct, which includes "violation without good cause of any rule of conduct, safety rule or other rules in any way related to the employment which is reasonably imposed and communicated by the employer or which can be reasonably implied from the type of employment."
Finn said refusing a vaccine on personal grounds is not a valid enough reason to not be fired for misconduct.
However, there are two exceptions: certain medical issues or religious beliefs.
These exceptions will have to be verified and vetted before approval.
“And the commission will look at everything on why you are claiming that exemption,” Finn said.
12 News Verify
Did you miss one of our Verify segments? You can find all of our VERIFY stories on the 12 News YouTube channel.