In a sweeping move aimed at rolling back pandemic-era mandates, the Trump administration on Friday directed all federal agencies to erase any records related to employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status, prior mandate noncompliance or exemption requests.<\/p>\n
The guidance, issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), was a response to recent litigation and is part of a broader push to reverse what officials have described as ‘harmful pandemic-era policies’ imposed under the Biden administration. <\/p>\n
‘Things got out of hand during the pandemic, and federal workers were fired, punished or sidelined for simply making a personal medical decision,’ OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement.That should never have happened. Thanks to President [Donald] Trump\u2019s leadership, we\u2019re making sure the excesses of that era do not have lingering effects on federal workers.’<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Former President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14043 in September 2021, directing federal agencies to require COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of federal employment. <\/p>\n
After the controversial demand, numerous lawsuits were filed by federal employees, unions and states alleging the mandate violated constitutional rights and federal labor laws.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A federal appeals court blocked enforcement of the order in 2022m and Biden repealed the mandate in May 2023, prompting OPM officials to issue a memorandum to human resources directors stating that ‘agencies should review their job postings \u2026 to ensure that none list compliance with the now revoked Executive Order 14043 as a qualification requirement.’ <\/p>\n
The memo also reminded agencies that the executive order could no longer be enforced.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In a memo to heads and acting heads of departments and agencies Friday, Kupor announced that, effective immediately, agencies are barred from using a person’s vaccine history or exemption requests in any employment-related decision, including hiring, promotion, discipline or termination. <\/p>\n
Unless an employee affirmatively opts out within 90 days, all vaccine-related information must be permanently removed from both physical and electronic personnel files.<\/p>\n
Agencies must certify compliance with the memo by Sept. 8, according to the memo.<\/p>\n
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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