WORKER TESTING GUIDANCE ISSUED

Administration sets standards for federal agency employees

The Biden administration has set the first governmentwide standards for testing federal employees for the coronavirus at the workplace, telling agencies to be transparent about how the process will work and what might be done with the results.

Guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month authorizes agencies to implement testing both to screen employees and diagnose possible infections among those who have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, as well as to identify those who may have been exposed to the virus.

The guidance leaves room for agencies to adopt different practices, telling them to apply the standards “according to the situation in their workplace or workforce” and consider factors such as whether an employee has been fully vaccinated.

The guidance says that “workplace-based testing should not be conducted without the employee’s consent.” But it also states that as an employer, the government has the authority to order tests in the name of protecting its employees and can impose undefined consequences on those who refuse to be tested.

“Guidance for how federal agencies should provide COVID-19 testing for employees is long overdue,” National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon said. “Even as vaccination rates increase, testing will remain a component of managing the spread of coronavirus and federal agencies should have plans in place.”

“It is widely expected that federal agencies with maximum telework in place may recall workers when the pandemic eases,” he said. “This guidance gives those agencies the direction on testing that has been missing and time to prepare plans.”