Agencies may take disciplinary action against unvaccinated employees who refuse COVID-19 testing in accordance with the new federal vaccine policy, the Biden administration said in a new round of frequently asked questions released Wednesday.
Testing is mandatory for all federal employees and contractors who are unvaccinated or decline to provide their vaccination status at least once a week, though agencies may consider a twice-weekly regime for others depending on their job responsibilities.
“In addition to pursuing any disciplinary action, an agency may separately elect to bar the employee from the agency workplace for the safety of others pending resolution of any disciplinary or other action the agency may pursue,” FAQs from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force read. “Any decision to bar the employee should occur in consultation with the agency’s onsite security authority, agency’s human resources office and agency’s legal counsel.”
If an agency bars an employee from the workplace, but the individual’s job doesn’t allow for it to be performed remotely, the employee will receive paid administration leave until disciplinary actions are resolved, the administration said.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Nicole Ogrysko over at Federal News Network
