Page 2 - COVID Executive Order Survival Guide Brochure

On September 9, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) to implement COVID safety protocols for Federal service contractors and subcontractors. While the EO did not outline specific rules, it did direct a Federal task force (the “Safer Federal Workforce Task Force,” created by Executive Order in January 2021) to issue COVID-19-related workplace safety guidance for prime contractors and subcontractors.
On September 24, 2021, the Task Force issued that Guidance, setting out specific workplace safety protocols and providing a few Questions and Answers to aid in interpretation of those protocols. Most notably, the Guidance mandates that a wide swath of the federal contracting and subcontracting communities receive COVID vaccinations.
The EO and Guidance are broadly worded; and, while they do NOT apply to all contractors, they impose new compliance obligations upon many, including:
• Businesses that sell to the Government,
• Businesses that sell to businesses that sell to the Government,
• Colleges and universities,
• Hospitals and healthcare facilities,
• Hotels,
• Energy Companies
• Financial institutions, including participants in GSA’s SmartPay program, • Concessionaires, and
• Almost any other entity that receives Federal, non-grant dollars.
On November 5, 2021, OSHA published a new COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) (fact sheet available HERE, and full text HERE). The ETS will require all employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated (or test negative on a weekly basis) by January 4, 2022. The OSHA rule does not preempt EO 14042. While the OSHA rule provides a weekly testing option for unvaccinated employees, 14042 does not. Employees covered by 14042 still need to be fully vaccinated by the new deadline of January 4, 2022.
NATIONWIDE INJUNCTION
On December 7, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a nationwide injunction on the enforcement of EO 14042 (in addition to other district courts that issued injunctions in specific states). In light of these injunctions, enforcement of EO 14042 effectively has been prohibited nationwide, and contractors need not take the steps detailed herein to comply with the vaccination mandate of EO 14042 (please see the specific FAQs on enforcement for additional details, especially as they relate to masking and distancing). Nevertheless, we are leaving the Survival Guide online in the event a Circuit Court or the Supreme Court reinstates EO 14042.
This EO Survival Guide answers many of the questions we have received regarding the EO and the Task Force Guidance. It also incorporates insights from the related FAR Clause, GSA Deviation, and DOD Deviation, all of which came out September 30, 2021. For ease of use, here are quick links to the FAQs this Guide covers:
Table of FAQs
Does The EO And Guidance Apply To Me?............................................................................................................................................................................4 What Does The Rule Require?.................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Are There Exceptions To The Vaccination Requirement?.................................................................................................................................................5 To What Contracts Does The Rule Apply?...........................................................................................................................................................................5 Executive Order Coverage.......................................................................................................................................................................................................6 Does The Rule Cover Indirect Employees?...........................................................................................................................................................................7 Examples Of Personnel Likely Working In Connection With A Federal Contract......................................................................................................8
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PAGE 2 | EXECUTIVE ORDER 14042 SURVIVAL GUIDE
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