It is generally legal in the United States for an employer to fire employees refusing to follow workplaces rules, with a few exceptions. While we would never cheer anyone’s unemployment, this is the right state of affairs legally and ethically, and there is no good reason to treat Covid-19 vaccine requirements differently.

At least 10 states have proposed bills prohibiting private employers from mandating that their workers must be vaccinated against Covid-19 as a condition of their employment. Such bills are ill-conceived and unwise. If enacted they would unfairly interfere with the right of employers to safely run their businesses. They are also unnecessary since federal law already protects certain employees against unjust discrimination.