Good morning,

Here is the next installment of the “Big Three” questions we are hearing from you. As always, please continue to check our FAQs and the USDA Workplace Safety Plan, which are updated frequently, and reach out to futureofwork@usda.gov for any questions not already addressed.

Sincerely,

The Future of Work Taskforce

1. What is the status of the pandemic and our phased return to the physical workplace?

The Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly, although it does appear to be peaking in some parts of the country. The science suggests that Omicron causes less severe illness than prior forms of the virus, but it has contributed to upticks in hospitalizations. Given the current status of the pandemic, we will continue to modify our phased return to the physical workplace to allow for additional time. We plan to provide more details about the status of our phased return by Jan. 31, 2022.

2. What types of leave are available to help with pandemic-related disruptions?

The rapid surge of Omicron cases is leading to school closures and other changes that may be very disruptive. A number of leave options are available to help during this period including annual leave, advanced leave, and Family and Medical Leave Act. Please reach out to your agency or staff office for specific information about leave and other flexibilities which may be available and in accordance with union obligations. Also, please note that the leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights and the American Rescue Plan Act Emergency Paid Leave program, designed to ease the impact of COVID-19 on federal employees, have ended and that leave is no longer available to USDA employees. 

3. Is leave available for booster shots?

Supervisors may grant up to 4 hours of administrative leave to their leave-eligible employees who choose to receive a COVID booster shot. Administrative leave of up to two days is authorized if any employee has an adverse reaction to a COVID-19 booster dose (i.e., no more than 2 workdays for reactions associated with a single dose). If an employee needs to spend less time getting the booster shot, only the needed amount of administrative leave should be granted. Additional time may be granted for extenuating circumstances, such as the distance to the vaccination site. Employees may only receive administrative leave during their normal work hours and may not receive administrative leave or overtime work for time spent getting a booster shot outside their tour of duty time. In the case of booster shots, employees may use leave retroactively applied to the time when authorized booster shots became available (i.e., no earlier than Sept. 22, 2021), when the Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to allow for the use of a single booster dose. Employees are considered “fully vaccinated” regardless of their booster status.

Read the third installment of the Big Three.