DOL Reentry Plan Updates

This message is intended for all DOL employees and contractors.

Colleagues,

I want to start by encouraging you to get vaccinated and to help your friends and family members get vaccinated,

whenever possible. Vaccinations are the best line of defense against COVID-19 and the Delta variant.

As we discussed during the recent Town Hall on July 22nd, we are committed to making timely decisions and

adjustments to the Department’s Reentry Plan as information about COVID-19 evolves and we receive new guidance

from public health experts and the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force. The Task Force recently released new model

safety principles, which include requirements around vaccine attestation and testing for employees, onsite contractors,

and visitors who are not fully vaccinated that will require further steps to operationalize.

Our goal is to prioritize the health and safety of our entire workforce during this process. Consistent with that priority, we

are adjusting the timeline for increasing the return of Federal staff, onsite contractor staff, and visitors to DOL

workspaces. Specifically, Phase 1 reentry will now begin no earlier than October 7, 2021 (as opposed to the original

date of September 7, 2021). Our phased approach and occupancy limits for each of the phases, as documented in the

Internal DOL Reentry and Post-Reentry Future of Work Plan, remain the same. Employees performing essential work

that cannot be performed from an approved telework site should continue to perform work onsite as determined by their

agency under the DOL COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan.

A few items to note along with this change:

The Reentry Plan has been updated to reflect the adjusted timeline for the Department’s phased reentry. In addition

to Phase 1, the start of Phases 2 and 3 will be adjusted to maintain at least thirty days between phases:

Phase 1: Beginning no earlier than October 7, 2021, the occupancy limit in DOL workspaces will increase to up

to 50% occupancy for no less than 30 calendar days. The DOL COVID-19 Coordination Team may extend the

period of transition to Phase 2.

Phase 2: Beginning no earlier than November 8, 2021, the occupancy limit in DOL workspaces will increase to

up to 75% occupancy for no less than 30 calendar days. The DOL COVID-19 Coordination Team may extend the

period of transition to Phase 3.

Phase 3: Beginning no earlier than December 8, 2021, the occupancy limit in DOL workspaces will increase to

up to 100% occupancy.

Employees will be required to be working at their assigned official duty station no later than the commencement

of Phase 3.

Travel guidance: Changes to DOL’s travel guidance, which align with the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force

guidance, will still take effect on September 7, 2021, as planned under the DOL COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan.

DOL’s masking guidance was updated on July 27, 2021 to reflect the current Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention guidance. All Federal employees, onsite contractors, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, must

wear a mask inside of DOL facilities in areas of substantial or high community transmission.

LABORNET

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Administrative leave policy for vaccinations has been extended beyond allowing administrative leave for

individual employees to receive vaccinations per previously issued guidance. Employees may be granted up to four

hours for taking a family member, to receive each of their doses, not to exceed 8 hours total for two doses. Please

encourage your family members above the age of 12 to get vaccinated, if they have not already done so.

We are currently developing plans to align with the federal directive to monitor the vaccination status of employees,

onsite contractors, and visitors, and require regular testing for those who are not fully vaccinated or decline to provide

their vaccination status. As those plans are finalized, we will share the policy and operational guidance with you.

The DOL COVID-19 Coordination Team will continue to monitor various factors and the evolving situation when making

future decisions about the Department’s reentry timeline.

Please reference the COVID-19 LaborNet site for more information on these updates, and email

if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Julie A. Su

Deputy Secretary of Labor

Last updated: August 12, 2021

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