Update on Implementation of COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Federal Employees
In order to ensure the health and safety of the Federal workforce and the efficiency of the civil service, President Biden issued an Executive Order on September 9, 2021, requiring COVID-19 vaccination for Federal employees. As of November 22, 2021, Federal employees need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, except for limited circumstances where an employee has an approved or pending request for an exception or extension.
On November 24, 2021, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shared that the Federal Government had achieved 96.5% compliance—meaning employees who have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination or have a pending or approved exception or extension request—with 92.0% of employees having received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose. This is across the largest workforce in the United States, with more than 3.5 million employees covered by a requirement working in every part of the country and around the world. And the Federal Government has implemented its vaccination requirements without disruptions to critical services people depend on.
The November 22, 2021 deadline wasn’t an end point. For those employees not yet in compliance, agencies are undertaking a period of education and counseling, to be followed by additional enforcement steps, consistent with guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force and the Office of Personnel Management. These efforts have already resulted in increased levels of vaccination and compliance. As of December 8, 2021, the Federal Government has achieved 97.2% compliance with 92.5% of employees having received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose.
Given the Federal Government’s tremendous progress, the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management have encouraged agencies to continue with robust education and counseling efforts as the first step in an enforcement process, with no subsequent enforcement actions, beyond that education and counseling and, if warranted, a letter of reprimand, for most employees who have not yet complied with the vaccination requirement until the new calendar year begins in January. Agencies may need to act on enforcement sooner for a limited number of employees, such as where there are additional or compounding performance or workplace safety issues under consideration, but in general, consistency across Government in further enforcement of the vaccine requirement after the start of the new calendar year is desired.
As the successful implementation of this requirement across the Federal Government has shown, vaccination requirements work: they increase vaccination rates—leading to a safer, more productive, and efficient workforce. They’re good for workers, good for businesses, and good for the country. That’s why the President has called for businesses to follow the Federal Government’s lead and put these requirements into place right now.
The chart below provides data as of December 8, 2021, regarding the percentage of employees at each agency who are in compliance with the requirement. It also shows the percentage of employees who have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination as of December 8, 2021. As reflected below, every agency has a compliance rate of over 95%.
This chart provides a snapshot in time. In the days and weeks ahead, employees will continue to provide vaccination information and documentation, as well as submit requests for exceptions, and agencies will continue to process and review that information and documentation, and consider those requests. Over time, new hires into the Federal Government will, similarly, submit vaccination information and documentation, or exception requests, which agencies will process.
Each step of this process will result in more Federal employees becoming vaccinated.
| Agency | Agency-wide compliance percentagei | Agency-wide vaccination percentageii |
| Agency for International Development | 99.3% | 98.1% |
| Department of Agriculture | 97.8% | 88.1% |
| Department of Commerceiii | 99.5% | 94.0% |
| Department of Defenseiv | 96.5% | 93.8% |
| Department of Education | 99.9% | 96.6% |
| Department of Energy | 98.5% | 91.0% |
| Department of Health and Human Servicesiii | 99.6% | 97.1% |
| Department of Homeland Securityv | 96.2% | 89.5% |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | 98.9% | 93.5% |
| Department of the Interior | 97.2% | 90.2% |
| Department of Justice | 98.8% | 90.6% |
| Department of Labor | 98.6% | 93.9% |
| Department of State | 98.3% | 97.0% |
| Department of Transportation | 99.7% | 90.7% |
| Department of Treasury | 98.9% | 92.0% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | 98.7% | 88.5% |
| Environmental Protection Agencyiii | 95.6% | 92.4% |
| General Services Administration | 99.3% | 93.4% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 97.7% | 92.2% |
| National Science Foundation | 99.9% | 97.7% |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission | 98.1% | 92.7% |
| Office of Personnel Management | 99.4% | 91.4% |
| Small Business Administration | 99.0% | 90.2% |
| Social Security Administration | 97.7% | 90.3% |
i Percentage of agency employees covered by a vaccination requirement with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination or a pending or approved exception or extension
ii Percentage of agency employees covered by a vaccination requirement with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination
iii Includes both civilian and Commissioned Corps personnel
iv Includes both Department of Defense civilian and active duty personnel
v Includes both civilian and Coast Guard active duty personnel
