Universities in several states have announced they will comply with President Biden’s Executive Order 14042 issued on September 9, 2021, requiring that federal contractors provide adequate Covid-19 safeguards for their workforce.
Subsequent Guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force made clear that those safeguards include a requirement that contractor employees be vaccinated against Covid-19 unless they are eligible for an accommodation.
The implications of the mandate for colleges and universities, the majority of which have federal contracts of some type, were immediately obvious. But just within the past few days, institutions across the country, including several in states with strongly conservative political leanings, have indicated they will comply with the order.
Alabama
On Friday, the University of Alabama System, which includes the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, informed its campuses that they are “obligated to ensure that employees are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by December 8, 2021, unless they have an approved medical, disability, or religious exemption.”
Like many of the other institutions that have decided to follow the mandate, the University of Alabama cited the financial repercussions it could suffer as the reason for its decision. “Failure to comply will place our universities in jeopardy of losing hundreds of millions of dollars received through federal contracts and awards, as well as thousands of jobs funded by those dollars.”
Also in Alabama, Auburn University said it was “compelled to comply” with Biden’s order, citing the approximately $200 million in federal contracts it receives. As a consequence, it modified its vaccine policy to require that all Auburn employees be fully vaccinated by the December deadline, except in limited circumstances where an employee is legally entitled to a medical or religious accommodation. Auburn’s policy applies to all full-time and part-time employees, including undergraduate and graduate student employees.
Tennessee
Last week, the University of Tennessee system said it would enforce Biden’s mandate and require employees who do work connected to federal contracts across the system to be fully vaccinated.
UT President Randy Boyd said the system holds more than 1,900 contracts that may fall under the federal mandates. The university indicated it’s "closely reviewing" the order to determine how it applies to all 12,000-plus employees across each of its campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Pulaski and Martin, as well as the Health Science Center in Memphis.
The University of Memphis will also require all its employees to be vaccinated by December 8. It will give employees two hours of paid leave to get their vaccinations.
Kansas
The three largest public universities in Kansas - Kansas State University, the University of Kansas and Wichita State University - also announced last Friday that they would require all of their employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19, citing Biden's mandate for federal contractors.
On Friday morning, Kansas State University was the first to announce its vaccine requirement. It was soon followed by similar statements from the University of Kansas and Wichita State in the afternoon.
New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire became the first public institution in that state to declare it would abide by Biden’s mandate, citing the $130 million in federal grant funding the university receives. The vaccine requirement will apply to all university employees, including student workers.
Virginia
The University of Virginia announced on October 21 that it would require all full-time and part-time employees to be vaccinated by December 8.
“Like many other institutions around the country, we have determined that compliance with President Biden’s executive order is vital to ensure that we do not risk losing millions in federal contract dollars that support important research and education work here at U.Va.,” a University email stated.
Although 95% of the university’s employees were already vaccinated, those that weren't were subject to mandatory weekly prevalence testing. Now, any unvaccinated employee who does not qualify for an accommodation will face possible “disciplinary actions, up to or including unpaid leave or termination.”
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Last week’s actions come on the heels of several other public universities - such as Penn State, the University of Delaware and Arizona’s public institutions - announcing they would follow the vaccine mandate resulting from the President’s order.
Colleges and universities across the nation are grappling with how they should respond to the federal mandate. Hundreds already had put their own campus mandates into effect before Biden’s order. For them, there is probably little effect.
For those without a mandate, they are debating their options. Some may consider challenging the order in court, although lawsuits against vaccine mandates in general are not faring well with most judges. Many are examining the details of the order and their unique campus circumstances to determine whether and how their contracts and contractors are affected. Others are evaluating how to implement the order, particularly the scope of its reach to different categories of faculty, staff and students. Some may just be dragging their feet.
The American Council on Education (ACE) has provided guidance to colleges and universities in an issue brief that advises that the breadth of the order and its definitions likely extend its “obligations to all corners of campus.”
The fact that many of the latest examples of compliance with the federal requirements are occurring at universities in politically conservative states like Alabama, Tennessee and Kansas, where opposition to vaccine and mask mandates has been particularly strong, carries extra significance.
Faculty and staff at colleges in these states have wanted campus leaders to impose mandates for some time. Biden’s executive order gives cover to administrators who now can say they have little choice but to abide by it, despite objections by the political leadership in their state. As the clock ticks down to the December 8 deadline, expect campus compliance to pick up steam.
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October 24, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Universities In Several Red States Say They’ll Follow Federal Vaccine Mandate - Forbes
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