Department of Defense Civilians and the
Federal Employee COVID-19 Vaccination
Mandate
November 23, 2021
The Department of Defense (DOD) employs individuals in the civil service (DOD civilians) consistent
with its yearly appropriation for direct hire employees. Since September 9, 2021, each executive agency
must implement a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) vaccination program for its employees,
allowing for exceptions only as required by law (5 U.S.C. §105; EO 14043, §§2, 3(a)). DOD
implemented the federal employee COVID-19 vaccination mandate on October 1, 2021, which requires
all DOD civilians to be vaccinated by November 22, 2021 (DOD Memorandum).
This Insight summarizes the federal employee vaccination mandate as implemented in DOD and applied
to DOD civilians.
For a summary of the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for military personnel, see CRS Insight IN11764,
The Military’s COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate, by Bryce H. P. Mendez. For a summary of the federal
government contractor employee vaccination mandate, see CRS Insight IN11803, Executive Order 14042
Requirements for COVID-19 Vaccination of Federal Contractors, coordinated by Heidi M. Peters.
Federal Employee Vaccination Mandate Implementation
Under the vaccination mandate, an employee is any individual appointed into the federal civil service by
an authorized official, including certain foreign citizens employed overseas (5 U.S.C. §2105). Also,
individuals paid from non-appropriated funds are incorporated into the mandate’s definition of an
employee (EO 14043, §3(b)).
The Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees Executive Order is the
specific authority for mandating federal employee COVID-19 vaccinations. It includes a determination
that “to promote the health and safety of the Federal workforce and the efficiency of the civil service, it is
necessary to require COVID–19 vaccination for all Federal employees, subject to such exceptions as
required by law.”
