Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination for Federal Employees

September 9, 2021

Executive Order 14043 required COVID-19 vaccination for all federal civilian employees, with accommodations available for medical conditions and sincerely held religious beliefs under Title VII. Unlike the separate OSHA private-sector mandate struck down by the Supreme Court, this order applied only to the federal workforce over which the President has direct management authority. The Fifth Circuit upheld the mandate, finding it within the President's authority to manage the federal workforce under 5 U.S.C. Section 7301. Constitutional tensions involved individual liberty and bodily autonomy claims under the Fifth Amendment, religious accommodation requirements under the First Amendment and RFRA, and whether the President's management authority over federal employees extends to mandating medical procedures as a condition of employment.