Good afternoon, 

We are writing with an important update about our “no earlier than date” for the return to the physical workplace. As you know, we pushed back the phased return to the workplace, originally set to start on Oct. 1, given the evolving COVID landscape. Today, we can share that the senior leadership cadre (Appointees, SES, SL, ST, SSTS and Senior Foreign Service Officers) will begin to return to the physical workplace on Dec. 1, 2021; other USDA employees are not expected to return to the office in December.  
 
We will begin our full-fledged return to the workplace for all USDA employees on Jan. 3, 2022. As we have said in the past, returning to the workplace will be a process and, once it begins, we expect it will be a phased approach. We will continue to work with agencies to develop, finalize and implement their tailored, phased approach – one that includes a thoughtful analysis of workspaces and space utilization, workforce resources and needs, employee work schedules, and internal communications strategies aimed at effectively keeping staff informed prior to and throughout the process. We do not expect employees who will return to the physical workplace to all come back on Jan. 3, 2022, instead that date signals the start of the process. It is important to understand that this revised schedule depends on agencies and Staff Offices having 1) their formal workplace safety plans in place, 2) satisfying labor relations obligations, 3) providing ample notice to employees, and 4) the status of the pandemic. Also, we know many supervisors are taking into consideration that some employees who are in positions that can be performed remotely will want to continue working remotely. Right now, each agency and staff office is crafting a plan for how it will bring staff back to the workplace starting in Jan. We have asked agency and staff leadership to center our values as they develop those plans and ensure they are engaging with employees throughout. We anticipate all USDA employees completing the phased return by March 14, 2022, subject to union negotiations.   
 
We also want to provide some key information about President Biden’s call to duty for Federal Executive Branch employees to lead by example and be fully vaccinated (meaning at least two weeks past the final dose) by no later than Nov. 22, 2021. This change in policy applies to all USDA employees and is essential to limit the spread of COVID-19, including the new and highly contagious Delta variant, which is 60 percent more contagious than the Alpha variant we dealt with last year. The policy is designed to reduce infection rates and contain the global pandemic and relies upon the best available science-based public health measures. All USDA employees getting vaccinated is important to keeping our families, our children, our co-workers, and our customers safe. To reiterate, the expectation is that all USDA employees will be fully vaccinated by Nov. 22nd. Employees may contact their Human Resources Director, reasonable accommodation or religious accommodation coordinator to request a medical or religious accommodation.
 
Thank you to the tens of thousands of USDA employees who have already been fully vaccinated. For those of you who still need to be vaccinated, below are interim deadlines that will ensure you are two weeks from your last does and thus fully vaccinated by the Nov. 22nd deadline. You can visit vaccines.gov to find a COVID-19 vaccine near you and learn more about the benefits of vaccinations.
 

• Oct. 11: First dose deadline (Moderna COVID-19 vaccine)
• Oct. 18: First dose deadline (Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine)
• Nov. 8: Second dose deadline (Moderna and Pfizer vaccine)
• Nov. 8: First (only) dose deadline (Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine)
• Nov. 22: Federal employees must be fully vaccinated

Please be aware that USDA employees will be required to provide more information about vaccine status, including proof of vaccination. In the coming days, Pandemic Coordinators will be following up with their agency or staff office regarding how we will collect this information in a way that maintains privacy while also meeting new federal reporting requirements.
 
As public servants, we put public interest first and do what it takes to keep each other, our communities and our children safe. Please send any concerns or questions to your Pandemic Coordinator or to futureofwork@usda.gov.
 
 
Sincerely,
 
Secretary Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Bronaugh