Department of Defense Civilians and the Federal Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

Department of Defense Civilians and the Federal Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

INSIGHTi
Department of Defense Civilians and the
Federal Employee COVID-19 Vaccination
Mandate
November 23, 2021
The Department of Defense (DOD) employs individuals in the civil service (DOD civilians) consistent
with its yearly appropriation for direct hire employees. Since September 9, 2021, each executive agency
must implement a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) vaccination program for its employees,
al owing for exceptions only as required by law (5 U.S.C. §105; EO 14043, §§2, 3(a)). DOD
implemented the federal employee COVID-19 vaccination mandate on October 1, 2021, which requires
al DOD civilians to be vaccinated by November 22, 2021 (DOD Memorandum).
This Insight summarizes the federal employee vaccination mandate as implemented in DOD and applied
to DOD civilians.
For a summary of the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for military personnel, see CRS Insight IN11764,
The Military’s COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate, by Bryce H. P. Mendez. For a summary of the federal
government contractor employee vaccination mandate, see CRS Insight IN11803, Executive Order 14042
Requirements for COVID-19 Vaccination of Federal Contractors, coordinated by Heidi M. Peters.
Federal Employee Vaccination Mandate Implementation
Under the vaccination mandate, an employee is any individual appointed into the federal civil service by
an authorized official, including certain foreign citizens employed overseas (5 U.S.C. §2105). Also,
individuals paid from non-appropriated funds are incorporated into the mandate’s definition of an
employee (EO 14043, §3(b)).
The Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees Executive Order is the
specific authority for mandating federal employee COVID-19 vaccinations. It includes a determination
that “to promote the health and safety of the Federal workforce and the efficiency of the civil service, it is
necessary to require COVID–19 vaccination for al Federal employees, subject to such exceptions as
required by law.”
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DOD Civilian Vaccination Mandate Implementation
On October 1, 2021, the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF) issued a memorandum
implementing the federal employee COVID-19 vaccination mandate that requires al DOD civilians to be
vaccinated by November 22, 2021, subject to exemptions permitted by law. The DEPSECDEF
memorandum states that a DOD civilian is “considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after completing the
second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine or 2 weeks after receiving a single dose of a one-dose
COVID-19 vaccine.” The civilian employee vaccination mandate also requires that:
... individuals must be vaccinated with vaccines that are either fully licensed or authorized for emergency
use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (e.g., Comirnaty/Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson
& Johnson/Janssen); listed for emergency use on the World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing
(e.g., AstraZeneca/Oxford); or approved for use in a clinical trial vaccine for which vaccine efficacy has
been independently confirmed (e.g., Novavax). Those with previous COVID-19 infection(s) or previous
serology are not considered fully vaccinated on that basis for the purposes of this mandate.
Any DOD civilian who was not fully vaccinated on October 1, 2021, typical y needed to meet the
following vaccination deadlines to have been fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021:
 October 11: first dose deadline (if receiving the Moderna vaccine);
 October 18: first dose deadline (if receiving the Comirnaty/Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine);
 November 8: second dose deadline (if receiving the Moderna and Comirnaty/Pfizer-
BioNTech vaccines); and
 November 8: first dose deadline (or only dose deadline if receiving the Johnson &
Johnson/Janssen vaccine).
Vaccinated DOD civilians must provide their supervisor a copy of their vaccine record to comply with
DOD’s vaccination verification procedures. These procedures also require DOD civilians to complete
Defense Department Form 3175 – DoD Civilian Employee Certification of Vaccination, which includes
the following attestation:
I certify that the information I have provided on this form and the proof of vaccination document I have
submitted is true and correct. I understand that a knowing and willful false statement on this form can
be punished by fine or imprisonment of both (18 U.S.C. 1001). I understand that making a false statement
on this form could result in additional administrative action including an adverse personnel action up to
an including removal from my position.
Since December 7, 2020, DOD civilians have been eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination at a DOD
vaccination site or any military medical treatment facility at no cost.
The Department of Homeland Security, which includes al Coast Guard civilians, also has issued a
mandatory vaccination policy for its civil service employees.
Exceptions to the Vaccination Mandate
In some circumstances the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 (Title VII) may require an employer to provide reasonable accommodations for employees who
inform their employers that they are not vaccinated against COVID-19 because of a disability or sincerely
held religious belief, practice, or observance. Whether DOD wil grant an accommodation under the ADA
or Title VII for a disability or religion, respectively, wil be based on factors such as the nature of the
DOD civilian’s job responsibilities and reasonably foreseeable effects on DOD operations, including
protecting the public and other DOD personnel from COVID-19. If an employee’s accommodation
request is denied, government-wide guidance states that the employee must receive a first or single dose

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within two weeks of the denial becoming final, and when a second dose is required, it must be received
within six weeks of the first dose.
Noncompliance with the Vaccination Mandate
Guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force states that an individual subject to EO 14043 who
fails to comply with its vaccination mandate wil be violating a lawful order and “subject to discipline, up
to and including termination or removal.” Beginning on November 9, 2021, DOD was able to initiate
enforcement of EO 14043 against noncompliant employees. If such employee does not comply by the end
of any counseling and education period, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance recommends a
suspension of 14 days or less. Both OPM and the Task Force suggest that continued noncompliance
during the suspension can be followed by proposing the employee’s removal from federal service.

Author Information

Alan Ott

Analyst in Defense and Intelligence Personnel Policy

Disclaimer
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