ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Florida is poised to begin enforcing the state law banning vaccine “passports” this month, imposing $5,000 fines on schools, government agencies and businesses that require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations.
The law, passed during the spring Legislative session, does not restrict screening protocols if they are consistent with government-issued guidance to protect public health.
“I don’t tell people what to do. If you want to be vaccinated, be vaccinated. If you don’t want to be vaccinated, then don’t. The same goes for wearing masks,” said Susan Chully, owner of Beach Life AMI in Bradenton Beach. “I leave it up to individual people. They know the risks and what’s out there so it’s their call,” added Chully, speaking of her business policy on employees and customers.
The fines are on a per-instance basis, meaning that asking a single customer or employee to show proof of vaccination more than once would be subject to the $5,000 fine for each instance.
“What small business owner could afford to take that chance?” asked Shawn Waters, who owns Solo’s Pizza in Holmes Beach. “It’s hard enough to keep your doors open with the lack of workers right now. You’d have to have some deep pockets to afford to take a risk on a bunch of $5,000 fines to get your point across.”
