Federal Contractor Rule Prompts More Vaccine Mandates

A growing number of major research universities have announced COVID-19 vaccination mandates for employees in recent days, in light of President Joe Biden’s order mandating vaccination for employees of federal contractors.

The mandate is broadly framed, covering all employees -- including student employees -- who work on or in connection with a federal contract, or who may potentially come in contact with a covered employee, such as in shared dining areas, parking garages or common areas such as meeting rooms, elevators and stairways.

Major research universities that have announced vaccine mandates for employees in recent days in order to comply with the Biden rule mandating COVID-19 vaccination for federal contractors include:

• Auburn University, in Alabama
• East Carolina University, in North Carolina
• Georgia State University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Kansas State University
• North Carolina State University
• Rutgers University, in New Jersey
• The University of Alabama system
• The University of Florida and University of Florida Health
• The University of Georgia
• The University of Kansas
• The University of Mississippi
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• The University of Tennessee system
• The University of Virginia
• The University of Wisconsin system
• Wichita State University, in Kansas

Other universities that previously announced vaccine mandates for employees in light of the federal contractor requirement include Pennsylvania State University -- which announced last week that a mandate for employees at the flagship University Park campus would also apply to employees at six regional campuses -- and Arizona’s three public universities, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona.

Most of the universities have announced that all employees will need to be vaccinated or obtain an approved medical or religious exemption in order for institutions to comply with Biden’s order. A few, however, indicated they will individually notify employees if they will need to be vaccinated.

Time is running short for employees to be vaccinated. Under the order, all covered employees of federal contractors must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8, meaning the last day employees could receive either the single-dose Johnson & Jonson vaccine or their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines is Nov. 24.