OAN Staff Abril Elfi
11:52 AM – Saturday, August 9, 2025
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued a new guidance directing all federal agencies to erase any records related to employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status, prior mandate noncompliance or exemption requests.
On Friday, OPM made the announcement in a memo to all federal department and agency heads.
OPM explained that the move is in response to recent litigation and is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to reverse “harmful pandemic-era policies” imposed by former President Joe Biden.
“Things got out of hand during the pandemic, and federal workers were fired, punished or sidelined for simply making a personal medical decision,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement. “That should never have happened. Thanks to President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, we’re making sure the excesses of that era do not have lingering effects on federal workers.”
Biden signed Executive Order 14043 in September 2021, requiring federal agencies to mandate COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of federal employment.
Following the directive, numerous lawsuits were filed by federal employees, unions, and states, claiming the mandate violated constitutional rights and federal labor laws.
In 2022, a federal appeals court blocked enforcement of the order. Biden repealed the mandate in May 2023, prompting the Office of Personnel Management to issue a memorandum to human resources directors stating that “agencies should review their job postings … to ensure that none list compliance with the now revoked Executive Order 14043 as a qualification requirement.” The memo also reminded agencies that the order could no longer be enforced.
In the memo, Kupor announced that, effective immediately, agencies are prohibited from using a person’s vaccine history or exemption requests in any employment-related decision, including hiring, promotion, discipline, or termination.
Unless an employee affirmatively opts out within 90 days, all vaccine-related information must be permanently removed from both physical and electronic personnel files.
Agencies must certify compliance with the directive by September 8th, according to the memo.
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