Yesterday, the Biden Administration announced new urgent plans to increase vaccination rates.
Of particular note to employers:
- Every federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status. If not fully vaccinated, employees and contractors will be required to wear a mask on the job, physically distance from all other employees and visitors, comply with a weekly or twice-weekly screening testing requirement, and be subject to restrictions on official travel.
- The Administration is encouraging private sector employers to follow this strong model.
- Small and medium-sized businesses will now be reimbursed for offering employees paid leave to get their family members, including kids, vaccinated. Under ARPA, this reimbursement was already offered for workers – the program is now being expanded to include reimbursement to get eligible kids vaccinated. The President is encouraging all employers to offer this leave.
For more detail see the White House press release.
We are closely monitoring this development, as well as the decision by DC to reinstate the indoor mask mandate regardless of vaccination status, the VA decision to encourage (but not mandate... yet) indoor mask-wearing, and all other COVID and vaccine-related issues.
Originally published July 30, 2021
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