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Following is newly issued guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force in the areas of vaccination status, mask wearing and social distancing in federal workplace.
Vaccination Status
NEW Q: Should agencies require or request employees and potential employees to provide information about their vaccination status?
To be consistent with guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, agencies should take no action to require or request employees and potential employees to provide information about their COVID-19 vaccination status solely for purposes of implementing the vaccination requirement pursuant to E.O. 14043.
Consistent with CDC’s guidance, for most Federal workplaces, COVID-19 workplace safety protocols currently do not vary based on vaccination status or otherwise depend on vaccination information, regardless of the COVID-19 Community Level for the county where the Federal workplace is located. Where this is the case, agencies should pause any efforts to require, request, or collect vaccination status information for the purposes of implementing agency COVID-19 workplace safety protocols.
Agencies with employee COVID-19 vaccination requirements pursuant to authorities other than E.O. 14043 are unaffected by the injunction 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. Such agencies should consult with the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, the agency’s General Counsel, and the agency’s Senior Agency Official for Privacy on such requirements, including related to information collection.
When agencies pause requiring, requesting, and collecting vaccination status information, such agencies must continue to preserve their vaccination information collection systems and the information collected to date from employees in accordance with the Federal Records Act and other records requirements. Furthermore, it is important to preserve this information as COVID-19 workplace safety protocols may change in the future, or collection of this information from Federal employees may otherwise need to resume.
UPDATED Q: If agencies require that employees provide information about their vaccination status because of an agency-specific vaccination requirement or an approved setting-specific dependency on collecting vaccination information, may agencies require documentation from employees to prove vaccination status??
A: Yes. If agencies require that employees provide information about their vaccination status because of an agency-specific vaccination requirement or approved setting-specific dependency on collecting vaccination information, agencies 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. In requesting such information, agencies must comply with any applicable Federal laws, including requirements under the Privacy Act and Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
UPDATED Q: How should agencies maintain any documentation provided by employees regarding vaccination?
A: 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. Furthermore, it is important to preserve this information as COVID-19 workplace safety protocols may change in the future, or collection of this information from Federal employees may otherwise need to resume.
If an agency requires that employees provide information about their vaccination status because of an agency-specific vaccination requirement or approved setting-specific dependency on collecting vaccination information, the agency may develop their own processes, systems, tools, and applications, related to those requirements or dependencies, to both collect and maintain the required information, in compliance with all applicable laws and in accordance with their agency record management policies.
The collection and use of this information for many agencies is subject to the OPM/GOVT-10 Employee Medical File system of records notice (SORN) and OPM regulations (5 C.F.R. part 293, subpart E). Under those rules, each agency should have written instructions for its Employee Medical Folder (EMF) system with appropriate safeguards. Employees should be provided with a Privacy Act statement at the point of collection of this information. Agencies that are not subject to OPM’s regulations (or who employ categories of employees not covered by OPM/GOVT-10) should give their employees an alternative Privacy Act or comparable statement, as applicable. As a general rule, this information should not be maintained in the Official Personnel Folder.
Agencies are encouraged to take steps to promote employee privacy and agency IT security, while also providing the relevant information to those in the agency who need to know in order to implement the safety protocols. Agencies should consult with their Agency Records Officer, Chief Information Officer, Senior Agency Official for Privacy, and agency’s legal counsel to determine the best means to maintain this information to meet the agency’s needs.
Mask-Wearing
Mask-Wearing UPDATED AND NEW
NEW Q: When agencies require that individuals wear “high-quality” masks or respirators, what types of masks or respirators may be worn?
A: When agencies require that individuals wear a “high-quality” mask or respirator when COVID-19 Community Levels are HIGH, and when agencies instruct individuals to wear a “high-quality” mask or respirator for post-exposure and post-isolation precautions, to be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, agencies would need to inform individuals that high-quality masks or respirators include respirators that meet U.S. or international standards (e.g., N-95, KN95, KF94), masks that meet a standard (e.g., ASTM), or “procedure” or “surgical”-style masks. Agencies should otherwise avoid limiting the types of masks that can be worn by individuals in Federal facilities.
NEW Q: When agencies require that employees wear high-quality masks or respirators, do agencies need to provide high-quality masks to employees?
A: Yes. When agencies require that employees wear high-quality mask or respirators (such as an N95) (including when all individuals in a Federal facility are required to wear high-quality masks because the COVID-19 Community Level in the county where the Federal Facility is located is HIGH), agencies must make high-quality masks or respirators available to agency employees. Agencies may also make high-quality masks or respirators available to onsite contractor employees and visitors, such as at building entrances.
Should agencies have questions regarding their approach to funding acquisition and provision of high-quality masks or respirators from agency appropriations, they should contact their agency Office of General Counsel and respective OMB Resource Management Office.
Agencies that want to distribute N95 respirators to employees should follow an Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) respiratory protection program.
UPDATED Q: Should agencies post and update signs in Federal facilities and post information online on agency websites to reflect what mask-wearing requirements apply in each Federal facility, based on current COVID-19 Community Levels?
A: Yes. To be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, agencies would need to post and update signs and post information online on agency websites making clear what mask-wearing requirements apply in each Federal facility.
When the COVID-19 Community Level is HIGH in a county where a Federal facility is located, to be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, agencies would need to post signs providing notice of the requirement for all individuals to wear a high-quality mask or respirator (such as N95) indoors in the facility pursuant to Executive Order 13991.
When the COVID-19 Community Level is LOW or MEDIUM in a county where a Federal facility is located, to be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, agencies would need to post signs providing notice that mask-wearing is optional.
UPDATED Q: Do agencies or the building’s Facility Security Committee (FSC) need to issue orders making the wearing of masks or respirators (such as N95s) consistent with CDC guidance a condition of entry for those persons wishing to access the facility?
A: Executive Order 13991 requires agencies to take steps to implement the policy established by the Executive Order, and these steps include orders by the occupant agency or the relevant Facility Security Committee (FSC), or, for GSA-controlled facilities, GSA imposing requirements consistent with the Executive Order. The agency with jurisdiction, custody, or control over a facility must implement the requirements of Executive Order 13991 and distribute notice of the requirement to wear a high-quality mask or respirator (such as an N95) when the COVID-19 Community Level in the county where the facility is located is HIGH, as well as notice that mask-wearing is optional when COVID-19 Community Levels are MEDIUM or LOW, including through written signage posted conspicuously at each public entrance on the property and notice to visitors on the agency’s public website, and through other communications of internal policies and guidance directed to its employees and contractors. The FSC should meet to discuss operational considerations (including conspicuous posting of notices at entrances to facilities), enforcement protocols, and any other issues associated with implementation of the Executive Order’s requirements that require cross-agency collaboration at the local level.
UPDATED Q: Should agencies require that individuals wear masks when in Government-operated vehicles and other transportation conveyances?
A: Yes. Pursuant to Executive Order 13991 and consistent with CDC guidance for the indoor transportation corridor and public transportation conveyances, agencies must require that individuals wear high-quality masks or respirators (such as an N95) when in Government-operated aircraft, boats and other maritime transportation conveyances, and buses with multiple occupants. In these conveyances, occupants can remove their masks or respirators for safety reasons or for brief periods of time while eating, drinking, or taking medication. Mask-wearing is not required for outdoor areas of conveyances, if any. Mask-wearing in these Government- operated conveyances is not required if there is a single occupant or if the occupants are all co-habitants. In Government-operated vans, cars, trucks, and other motor pool passenger vehicles, agencies must recommend that individuals wear high-quality masks or respirators (such as N95s) when there are multiple occupants.
Physical Distancing
NEW Q: Can Federal agencies put in place facility-level occupancy limits solely for the purposes of facilitating physical distancing?
A. No. To be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, agencies should not establish facility-level occupancy limits solely for the purpose of facilitating physical distancing as a COVID-19 prevention action, absent an exception approved by the agency head following consultation with the agency COVID-19 Coordination Team and the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.
When COVID-19 Community Levels are MEDIUM or HIGH, agencies can consider establishing occupancy limits for indoor common areas and meeting rooms in Federal facilities, and in high-risk settings within Federal facilities, where necessary, including where ventilation and air filtration is challenging to improve despite agency efforts to the maximum extent feasible, or crowding cannot otherwise be avoided.
NEW Q: Should Federal agencies require that individuals physically distance from others?
A: No. To be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, Federal agencies should not require that individuals physically distance from others. Rather, to be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, if COVID-19 Community Levels are MEDIUM or HIGH in a county where a Federal facility is located, then agencies would need to post signage encouraging individuals to consider avoiding crowding and physically distancing themselves from others in indoor common areas, meeting rooms, and high-risk settings in Federal facilities.
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See also,
CSRS and FERS – Why They Exist, Why They Differ
Exceptions to the 10 Percent Early Withdrawal Penalty
What Happens to Your Retirement Application
