Agencies have 90 days to permanently remove vaccination status and exemption requests unless workers opt out
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.
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.
“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’s leadership, we’re making sure the excesses of that era do not have lingering effects on federal workers.”