Delay: Federal Contractor COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

The White House announced its intention to delay the compliance deadline for federal contractors and subcontractors to implement vaccination or testing requirements on employees serving federal government facilities.  The initial compliance deadline for federal contractors and subcontractors is delayed until January 4, 2022 to align with a compliance deadline for mandatory testing of unvaccinated employees under an Emergency Temporary Standard recently published by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration. The White House announcement for federal contractors is available online here.

NPGA developed a template document for propane marketers to request a temporary exception from the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors and subcontractors. The Draft Request for Federal Contractor is available on the NPGA Member Dashboard.  The guidance published by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force includes an exception pathway for federal contractors and subcontractors serving urgent, mission-critical needs of federal agencies.  NPGA’s Federal Regulatory Task Force called on NPGA staff to develop a template document to request an exception from the vaccination mandate for propane marketers serving as federal contractors and subcontractors.  Also available on the Member Dashboard is NPGA’s guidance summarizing the primary requirements of the COVID-19 vaccination executive orders, answers to frequently asked questions, and additional government resources.

In September, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order calling for certain safety protocols for federal contractors and subcontractors.  Among the protocols, the Executive Order instructs the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force to produce guidance to assist federal agencies in implementing the vaccination requirements for existing and future contracts.

Please direct any questions to Sarah Reboli, NPGA Senior Director of Regulatory & Industry Affairs.