Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R,C,I-Sayville) has drafted a bill in partnership with Sen. Alexis Weik to grant unemployment benefits to healthcare workers who were fired as a result of refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. Their firings were required under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s scorched-earth policy that mandated vaccinations for healthcare workers across the state. Gandolfo says she’s gone too far.

“It’s amazing how quickly Governor Hochul went from calling our healthcare professionals ‘heroes,’ to putting thousands out of work and denying them unemployment benefits,” Gandolfo said. “By denying unemployment, it’s clear that the Governor wants to punish the healthcare professionals who decided not to receive the vaccine. This is a horrible way to treat workers, no matter how small the percentage.”

The Gandolfo–Weik bill reinstates unemployment benefits to healthcare workers fired as a result of the governor’s policy. “We have to do the right thing by all healthcare professionals. They showed up every day to battle this virus during the worst days of the pandemic, and none of them deserve to be demonized for making a personal medical decision,” Gandolfo concluded.