The White House has issued new guidance in a series of questions and answers regarding COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirements for Federal employees, contractors, and visitors.
The new detailed guidance aims to help agencies better understand how to carry out the recent vaccine mandate set by the White House, which says Federal employees and contractors who are not fully vaccinated must adhere to new masking, distancing, and testing requirements.
The new guidance asks agencies to have their employees, onsite contractors, and visitors indicate their vaccination status by completing the Certification of Vaccination form.
They can indicate their status through one of four options: “I am fully vaccinated,” “I am not yet fully vaccinated,” “I have not yet been vaccinated,” and “I decline to respond.”
“Given the different safety protocols for individuals who are fully vaccinated and those who are not fully vaccinated, agencies need to ask about the vaccination status of Federal employees and onsite contractors,” the guidance says. “Employees and onsite contractors must attest to the truthfulness of the response they provide. If an employee or onsite contractor chooses not to provide a response, they will be treated as unvaccinated for the purpose of agency safety protocols.”
If an employee provides false information on the vaccination attestation form, employees “could be subject to an adverse personnel action, up to and including removal from their position.” Employees are able to submit a new Certification of Vaccination form if their vaccination status changes.
