How agencies collected and managed vaccine status information was one of the points of dispute in a dozen lawsuits against the mandate. Image: Michael Vi/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffFederal employees have been told to keep records of which of their employees had received Coronavirus vaccinations under the now-revoked Biden administration mandate.
“Agencies must continue to preserve their vaccination information collection systems and information collected to date from employees in accordance with the Federal Records Act and other records requirements,” says guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.
Such information is subject to the Privacy Act and OPM rules regarding protection of personal records and who may have access to them for official purposes, it adds. “Agencies should consult with their agency records officer, chief information officer, senior agency official for privacy, and general counsel to determine the best means to maintain this information to meet the agency’s needs,” it says.
How agencies collected and managed that information was one of the points of dispute in a dozen lawsuits against the mandate. One of those had resulted in an injunction that lasted from early 2022, just as agencies were preparing to begin enforcing it, until last week when President Biden revoked the mandate.
In addition to barring disciplinary actions against employees not in compliance, that injunction banned agencies from continuing to collect records on proof of vaccination. However, it did not require agencies to destroy records they already had collected during the roughly four months the mandate was in force.
The new guidance further notes that some agencies had imposed their own mandates prior to Biden’s order—the largest of which by far affected most employees of the VA. They “may continue to require that employees provide information about their vaccination status, including documentation of proof of vaccination from employees and potential employees subject to those requirements, as can agencies with other setting-specific dependencies on collecting vaccination information from employees in those settings,” it says.
Such agencies further “may require documentation from employees to prove vaccination, subject to those authorities or requirements, even if an employee has previously attested to their vaccination status,” it says.
The guidance also says that in light of the mandate being lifted:
* Proof of vaccination against the Coronavirus is no longer required as a condition of entry to any GSA-controlled facility.
* Agencies still should grant administrative leave of up to four hours for employees who are receiving a vaccine dose or to accompany certain family members for that purpose, as well as up to two days of administrative leave for recovery from any adverse side-effects.
* Employees generally now must use sick leave or other personal time off if they are isolating because they have COVID-19 symptoms and do not feel well enough to telework.
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