In my last post, I discussed President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors. The Order requires that covered federal contractors comply with all guidance for contractor or subcontractor workplaces published by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, which guidance was to be issued by September 24, 2021.
The guidance has since been released.
It contains three primary requirements:
- Covered contractors must have all covered contractor employees fully vaccinated, “unless the employee is legally entitled to an accommodation,” no later than December 8, 2021. Additionally, covered contractors are strongly encouraged to incorporate a similar requirement into their non-covered contracts and agreements with non-covered contractors whose employees perform work at covered contractor workplaces. Examples of this include, food services, security, or groundskeeping services at covered contractor workplaces.
- Covered contractors must ensure that all individuals and visitors comply with published CDC guidance for masking and social distancing.
- Covered contractors must designate a person or persons to coordinate implementation of and compliance with the Task Force’s guidance.
The relevant definitions are as follows:
Covered contract – means any contract or contract-like instrument that includes the clause described in Section 2(a) of the order.
Covered contractor – means a prime contractor or subcontractor at any tier who is party to a covered contract.
While the overall goal of the guidance seems clear, there are a number of exceptions and questions that are left unanswered in the Task Force’s relatively sparse, 14-page document. For example, what are the consequences if a contractor or subcontractor is found to be noncompliant with the guidelines? I expect contractors to be calling their lawyers with this and countless other questions.
To be sure, federal contractors to whom this guidance applies (most) should start now to prepare for the implementation of the new requirements. However, there is likely to be much more to come as the year winds to a close. Stay tuned for continued updates.
