In an effort to slow the spread of the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus, President Biden announced (in a July 29, 2021 White House Fact Sheet, as well as at a press conference) that on-site federal contractor employees will be asked about their vaccination status and if not fully vaccinated, be required to wear a mask and undergo COVID testing:

“[E]very federal government employee and onsite contractor will be asked to attest to their vaccination status. Anyone who does not attest to being fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask on the job no matter their geographic location, physically distance from all other employees and visitors, comply with a weekly or twice weekly screening testing requirement, and be subject to restrictions on official travel.

President Biden is also directing his team to develop a plan to

“take steps to apply similar standards to all federal contractors.”

The administration will also “encourage employers across the private sector to follow this strong model.”

We are awaiting announcement of the details of this plan and will keep you posted on further developments on this White House initiative.