The governor unveiled legislation Thursday that would require employers to grant the exemptions for medical or religious reasons.
Employers also would be required to recognize natural immunity as an exemption. The employee must provide proof of a positive serum antibody test from a qualified laboratory within 180 days of requesting the exemption. The employer could require another test to renew the exemption, according to the bill.
"The COVID vaccination should be a choice, and we should reject the efforts that we are seeing in other parts of the country to divide us into two classes: vaccinated and unvaccinated," Noem said in a statement. "Unvaccinated Americans are still Americans."
