DeSantis: Florida cities, counties that require employees get vaccinated will be fined

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that any city or county that requires its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will be fined $5,000 per infraction.

The governor spoke in Alachua County on Monday morning about vaccine mandates.

"We are here today to make it very clear that we are going to stand for the men and women who are serving. We are going to protect Florida jobs," he said during the news conference. "We are not gonna let people be fired because of a vaccine mandate."

Gov. DeSantis went on to announced that any city or county that requires employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will face a $5,000 fine per infraction.

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Orange County is an example of a Florida county that requires all current and new employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment. They issued a memo in July stating that all employees must be fully vaccinated by August 31st.

Leaders in Orange County held a COVID-19 briefing as Governor Ron DeSantis spoke on Monday. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings was asked about the governor’s newly-announced fines.

"At the end of the day, it’s all of our goals to protect the greater collective of the people in our community to keep them safe," he said. "I'm not going to take actions that will adversely impact the safety of our community. Sometimes, quite frankly, I question whether or not the governor really sees it that way. He may say that he does, but I believe many of the decisions that he makes are purely politically motivated and that’s not how I make decisions."

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