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New guidance on the Coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal employees addresses situations in which the requirement may be delayed, as well as potential accommodations for those who qualify for an exception.
It says that the deadline to be fully vaccinated by November 22 can be delayed for reasons recognized by the CDC (at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/COVID-19/clinical-considerations/COVID-19-vaccines-us.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fvaccines%2FCOVID-19%2Finfo-by-product%2Fclinical-considerations.html). Those primarily are for people with current COVID-19 infections; those who have received monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma for COVID-19 treatment; those with current cases of myocarditis or pericarditis; and those undergoing or planning to undergo immunosuppressive therapies. A delay due to pregnancy may be allowed in certain medical circumstances, it adds.
If a delay is granted on one of those grounds, an agency is to require that an employee begin a course of vaccination “no later than two weeks after clinical considerations no longer recommend delay.” During the delay, “an employee must follow applicable masking, physical distancing, and testing protocols for not fully vaccinated individuals, as well as applicable travel guidance.”
Employees who are not granted either a requested exception or a delay are to be required to begin a course of vaccination within two weeks of the agency decision, and in the case of a two-dose vaccine to receive the second dose within six weeks of the first.
For those who are granted an exception on either medical or religious (see related story) grounds, the accommodation will consist of requiring them to continue working on their normal schedules while following those stricter safety protocols when onsite. Neither the guidance nor the forms mention any other type of accommodation such as full-time telework. They further will be subject to testing under policies still to be announced, it says.
It adds this, which suggests that an agency might order even an employee with an approved exception to choose being vaccinated or being fired:
“There may be circumstances in which an agency determines that the nature of an employee’s job responsibilities requires heightened safety protocols if they are provided with a legally required exception. In some cases, the nature of the employee’s job may be such that an agency determines that no safety protocol other than vaccination is adequate. In such circumstances, the agency may deny the requested accommodation.”