GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In what is being seen as a win for Florida's governor and some city employees, Gainesville's commissioners recently decided to no longer require workers to be fully vaccinated.
In a letter sent to the Florida Department of Health, the city said commissioners voted to rescind the Aug. 5 mandate.
The city was in the midst of a lawsuit filed by more than 200 employees, which included firefighters and police officers, over the mandate. The Gainesville City Commission originally had given city employees and contractors until Oct. 14 to receive vaccines or risk facing termination.
Lawyers for the workers said many employees would rather quit or retire than follow the mandate.
In response to the reversal, Gov. Ron DeSantis called the decision a "victory for liberty."
"We are not going to allow our first responders and government employees, many of whom have been on the front lines for over a year and a half, to be cast aside by local politicians’ mandates," DeSantis said in a statement.
DeSantis has threatened fines for local governments who mandate vaccines.
Back in April, state lawmakers passed SB 2006 – banning businesses, educational institutions and government entities from making people show proof of vaccination to enter. In May, DeSantis signed that bill into law.
The way it's written, the law doesn't explicitly say a government agency cannot tell one of its own employees to get vaccinated and appears to be more directed at individuals who walk into the government office for services. However, DeSantis has made clear that he believes it covers both.
Here in the Tampa Bay area, Tampa and Hillsborough County are requiring employees to get vaccinated.
In July, the county announced all new employees starting on or after Aug. 30 had to be fully vaccinated. Weeks later, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced a more stringent vaccine mandate.
Castor announced any employees who are not vaccinated after Sep. 30 will be required to wear an N-95 mask and take a COVID-19 test once a week.