White House Issues Guidance on Vaccine Mandates for Federal Contractors

President Biden announced his “Path Out of the Pandemic” COVID-19 Action Plan on September 9, 2021. The plan details a six-pronged approach to curb the spread of COVID-19, with one portion of the plan introducing a series of mandates to vaccinate nearly 80 million eligible Americans who remain unvaccinated. The strategy included:

• Requiring all employers with 100+ employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or tested weekly
• Requiring vaccinations for all federal workers and for millions of contractors that do business with the federal government
• Requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for over 17 million health care workers at Medicare and Medicaid participating hospitals and other health care settings
• Calling on large entertainment venues to require proof of vaccination or testing for entry
• Requiring employers to provide paid time off to get vaccinated

In connection with the plan, President Biden signed an executive order requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to be vaccinated. The executive order provided that the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force would issue guidance on or before September 24, 2021, to further explain the requirements involving federal contractors and any exceptions. These requirements would “apply to any workplace locations (as specified by the Safer Federal Workplace Task Force Guidance) in which an individual is working on or in connection with a Federal Government contract or contract-like instrument.” 

As promised, on September 24, 2021, the task force issued guidance detailing how agencies and federal contractors should comply with President Biden’s September 9 executive order. Under the new guidance, federal contractor employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 8, 2021, unless the employee is legally entitled to an accommodation for a disability or sincerely held religious belief. 

“After [December 8], all covered contractor employees must be fully vaccinated by the first day of the period of performance on a newly awarded covered contract, and by the first day of the period of performance on an exercised option or extended or renewed contract when the clause has been incorporated into the covered contract,” the guidance states.

In the wake of the new guidance, employers should consider the following:

• The mandate will also apply to employees who work remotely from home
• Federal contractors must ensure compliance with CDC guidance for masking and physical distancing for unvaccinated individuals and designate specific individuals to coordinate COVID-19 safety initiatives at their workplaces
• Employees may no longer simply attest to their vaccinating status—federal contractors must now require employees to provide physical proof documenting their vaccination status.

Please contact Austin Laurienzo or any other member of Phelps’ Labor and Employment team if you have questions or need compliance advice and guidance. For more information related to COVID-19, visit Phelps’ COVID-19: Client Resource Portal.