Dear colleagues,
We need to communicate a very important change to our employment requirements. By now, you are probably aware that President Joe Biden issued an executive order in September requiring federal contractors, including federal contractors within the University System of Georgia, to comply with COVID-19 guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.
Under this guidance, federal contractors must ensure that all employees covered under the executive order (“covered employees”), including those working remotely, are fully vaccinated by Dec. 8.
Georgia State does work on federal contracts and is subject to the provisions of this order. Based on the order, Georgia State employees who will be required to be vaccinated include:
- All full-time or part-time employees (including student workers) working on or in connection with a covered federal contract.
- Employees who perform support functions such as human resources, billing, legal review and other functions.
- Employees who are in the same workplace as employees working on or supporting federal contracts but who do not themselves work directly on or in connection with the federal contract.
Additional information will be forthcoming regarding these requirements, but please be aware that the federal government has defined covered employees and covered contractor workplaces broadly.
Next Steps
We have been working over the past few weeks in concert with other institutions in the University System of Georgia to determine how Georgia State will operationalize the provisions of the order. We will soon share information on how employees can submit proof of vaccination through a secure upload process or apply for a religious or medical exemption through the Human Resources Office.
Per the federal order, employees must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8. Because the full vaccination process can take up to six weeks, unvaccinated employees should plan to receive their first vaccine dose as soon as possible.
Employees who are not already fully vaccinated will need to start the vaccination process by the dates listed below to be able to achieve full vaccination by the Dec. 8 deadline.
- Moderna: First dose by Oct. 27, 2021, and second dose by Nov. 24, 2021.
- Pfizer: First dose by Nov. 3, 2021, and second dose by Nov. 24, 2021.
- Johnson & Johnson: Dose needed by Nov. 24, 2021.
You can book an appointment for a free vaccine at Georgia State here: https://covidinfo.gsu.edu/covid-19-resources/covid-19-vaccine/
Vaccines are also available at no charge at pharmacies and health clinics across the region. Employees may also look into available options near them at vaccines.gov.
It is important that we send this communication to you quickly, although we know that you will have many more questions. We are working diligently to provide additional guidance and will share that when it becomes available. We deeply appreciate your patience and attention to this matter as we work to comply with the federal mandate.
Sincerely,
M. Brian Blake, President
Wendy Hensel, Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Jerry Rackliffe, Senior Vice President for Finance & Administration
Kerry Heyward, University Attorney
Tim Denning, Vice President for Research and Economic Development
Michael Parkerson, Interim Vice President for Government & Community Affairs