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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Are the White House and federal agencies strongly encouraging vaccinations for their employees?

Thursday, August 19, 2021

By Lisa Freedland

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YES

The Biden administration continues to develop new rules to encourage federal employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination—and impose new restrictions on those who don’t.

As first outlined by the president on July 29, 2021, the rules are not an absolute mandate. Employees at the White House and all civilian agencies will be required to verify their vaccination status. If unvaccinated, they will have to wear a mask at work, be tested regularly for COVID-19 and observe limits on permitted official travel. On Aug. 18, the administration clarified that employees who don’t comply may face disciplinary action.

The administration has not set deadlines for implementation, Federal News Network reported. The report noted the administration said agencies “need to act quickly” and should engage with federal employee unions at their “earliest opportunity” as they develop COVID-19 testing programs.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

White House Fact Sheet about vaccination measures

Federal News Network Unvaccinated federal employees who refuse testing could also face disciplinary action

Safer Federal Workforce What’s new?

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.