Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees

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Published

September 14, 2021

Signed

September 9, 2021

Issuing agencies

Executive Office of the President

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 175 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 50989-50990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19927]

Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 14, 2021 /
Presidential Documents

[[Page 50989]]

Executive Order 14043 of September 9, 2021

Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination
for Federal Employees

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including sections 3301, 3302, and 7301 of
title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as
follows:

Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of my
Administration to halt the spread of coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19), including the B.1.617.2
(Delta) variant, by relying on the best available data
and science-based public health measures. The Delta
variant, currently the predominant variant of the virus
in the United States, is highly contagious and has led
to a rapid rise in cases and hospitalizations. The
nationwide public health emergency, first declared by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services on January
31, 2020, remains in effect, as does the National
Emergency Concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) declared pursuant to the National
Emergencies Act in Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020
(Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak). The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the
Department of Health and Human Services has determined
that the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to
prevent infection by the Delta variant or other
variants is to be vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in the United
States. They protect people from getting infected and
severely ill, and they significantly reduce the
likelihood of hospitalization and death. As of the date
of this order, one of the COVID-19 vaccines, the
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, also known as
Comirnaty, has received approval from the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), and two others, the Moderna
COVID-19 Vaccine and the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine, have
been authorized by the FDA for emergency use. The FDA
has determined that all three vaccines meet its
rigorous standards for safety, effectiveness, and
manufacturing quality.

The health and safety of the Federal workforce, and the
health and safety of members of the public with whom
they interact, are foundational to the efficiency of
the civil service. I have determined that ensuring the
health and safety of the Federal workforce and the
efficiency of the civil service requires immediate
action to protect the Federal workforce and individuals
interacting with the Federal workforce. It is essential
that Federal employees take all available steps to
protect themselves and avoid spreading COVID-19 to
their co-workers and members of the public. The CDC has
found that the best way to do so is to be vaccinated.

The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (Task Force),
established by Executive Order 13991 of January 20,
2021 (Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring
Mask-Wearing), has issued important guidance to protect
the Federal workforce and individuals interacting with
the Federal workforce. Agencies have also taken
important actions, including in some cases requiring
COVID-19 vaccination for members of their workforce.

Accordingly, building on these actions, and in light of
the public health guidance regarding the most effective
and necessary defenses against COVID-19, I have
determined that to promote the health and safety of the
Federal workforce and the efficiency of the civil
service, it is necessary to require COVID-19
vaccination for all Federal employees, subject to such
exceptions as required by law.

[[Page 50990]]

Sec. 2. Mandatory Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination
for Federal Employees. Each agency shall implement, to
the extent consistent with applicable law, a program to
require COVID-19 vaccination for all of its Federal
employees, with exceptions only as required by law. The
Task Force shall issue guidance within 7 days of the
date of this order on agency implementation of this
requirement for all agencies covered by this order.

Sec. 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:

(a) The term ``agency'' means an Executive agency
as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105 (excluding the Government
Accountability Office).
(b) The term ``employee'' means an employee as
defined in 5 U.S.C. 2105 (including an employee paid
from nonappropriated funds as referenced in 5 U.S.C.
2105(c)).

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(d) If any provision of this order, or the
application of any provision to any person or
circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of
this order and the application of any of its other
provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall
not be affected thereby.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>

(Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

September 9, 2021.

[FR Doc. 2021-19927
Filed 9-13-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P

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