In welcome news for government contractors, the government contractor vaccine mandate continues to soften.  In a statement issued by the White House this morning, the deadline for complying with the mandate will be extended from December 8, 2021, to January 4, 2022, to align with the deadline of the OSHA emergency temporary standard that was issued November 4.  Our Labor & Employment group will be publishing information about the OSHA ETS on their HR Law Talk blog later today.

The statement also makes another important change to the deadline for compliance with the government contractor vaccine mandate.  Previously, covered contractor employees were required to be “fully vaccinated” by the December 8 deadline, meaning that they received the final vaccine dose at least two weeks prior.  The White House has eliminated that two week period, now requiring that covered contractor employees receive their last vaccine dose by the revised January 4 deadline, effectively giving contractors an additional two weeks.

The deadline extension, which has yet to be incorporated in the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force Guidance, is a great development for contractors subject to the mandate and working diligently to get their employees vaccinated.