OMB Lifts Mask Mandate on Federal Property
After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in new, updated guidance that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks in both indoor and outdoor settings, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent agencies an email lifting the mask mandate in federal facilities while retaining other pandemic protocols.
The email explained that masks will no longer be required for federal employees, contractors, and visitors as long as they are fully vaccinated. It reads, “This change related to masking is the only change to federal workplace COVID-19 safety guidance – maximum telework and workplace occupancy limits remain in place – but we will continue to update based on public health guidance.”
An executive order by President Joe Biden and supplemental guidance from OMB back in January of 2021 mandated wearing masks on all federal property and stated that the government would be following CDC guidelines and recommendations regarding mask wearing. Now that the CDC has released new mask guidance, federal employees who are fully vaccinated- meaning two weeks have passed since their final dose- are not required to wear masks in the workplace.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a press briefing on May 14, “It may take a couple of days, but certainly I would expect on federal lands, federal properties that the [new] guidelines will be the guide.” In terms of federal transportation, the press secretary did not have major updates but she stated, “We’ll continue to look to them [CDC] for guidance on what is safe on an airplane or a train or anything like that.”
As agencies continue to navigate these new guidelines, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force will respond to any questions agencies may have. This task force is led by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the White House COVID-19 response team.
Several agencies have already began informing their employees about the new non-masking policy and how they intend to implement it. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks issued a memo to Department of Defense employees on May 13, 2021 formally lifting the mask mandate for DoD employees. How the DoD plans to enforce this new policy is unclear, as the memo furthers that commanders and supervisors “should not ask about an employee’s vaccination status,” and they should not “make decisions about how and when employees will report to a workplace instead of teleworking.”
Furthermore, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will not ask employees about their vaccination status and while most agencies are still on maximum telework, some are making plans to bring their employees back to the federal workplace. For example, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) lifted mask mandates for fully vaccinated employees, contractors, and visitors, and they plan to bring 50 percent of their workforce back to the office by August 1, 2021.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) also lifted their mask mandate, although the agency plans to keep employees teleworking for the foreseeable future. NSF’s chief human capital officer, Wonzie Gardner, told employees in an email, “NSF remains in maximum telework status, and our 25% building occupancy limit remains in place. Out of consideration for your colleagues, we ask that you follow the safety measures and the masking and physical distancing guidance applicable to your vaccination status. In addition, only mission-essential travel is permitted, and all NSF-sponsored meetings remain virtual through Sept. 30, 2021.”
Since the new guidelines were just recently announced, there remains uncertainty surrounding their implementation and enforcement. On this note, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, “I would imagine within a period of just a couple of weeks, you’re going to start to see significant clarification of some of the actually understandable and reasonable questions that people are asking.”