The American Federation of Government Employees appealed to the Biden administration Tuesday to delay the deadline for federal employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 from Nov. 22 to Jan. 4.
The union’s argument is not anti-vaccine, it maintains. Rather, it said, the union wants to ensure that federal employees and federal contractors are subject to the same deadlines. Last week, the administration pushed back the deadline for federal contractors from Dec. 8 to Jan. 4, whereas the deadline for federal workers remains Nov. 22.
AFGE National President Everett B. Kelley wrote to White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients and the heads of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management to urge the “harmonization of COVID-19 vaccination deadlines” between the two sets of workers.
“This double standard has caused confusion and distress among federal employees due to disparate treatment and incongruent deadlines for people who perform the government’s work in the same settings,” Kelley wrote.
Further, he wrote, “It is inexcusable that contractors are being given the entire holiday season to meet the mandates while federal employees continue to be subject to the Nov. 22 deadline. The effect upon morale of federal employees being subject to possible discipline at this time of the year cannot be overstated.”
