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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released new guidance to federal agencies on implementing President Biden’s executive order mandating masks in federal buildings and establishing a Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.
In addition to the mask requirement, the OMB guidance instructs agencies to make “every effort” to maximize telework, stagger work times and offer flexible scheduling, and limit the number of employees in federal buildings to no more than 25 percent of normal capacity.
The Jan. 20 executive order requires federal agencies to immediately take action to conform with all CDC guidelines on mask wearing, physical distancing, cleaning and other safety measures. While most federal agencies are already complying with CDC guidelines, NTEU welcomes this high-level attention to the safety of federal employees.
The new task force will be led by the directors of the Office of Personnel Management, the administrator of the General Services Administration and White House COVID-19 response coordinator. Its mission is to establish and provide ongoing guidance on the safety, including testing methodologies and vaccine prioritization, distribution and administration.
The executive order directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Director of CDC, to develop and submit to the COVID-19 Response Coordinator a testing plan. The plan will be based on community transmission metrics, and address testing types, frequency of testing, positive case protocols, and coordination with local public health authorities for contact tracing.
NTEU will keep members updated as the task force gets underway.
More information and resources are available on NTEU’s coronavirus resource page.