The Trump administration has directed all federal agencies to remove records related to employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status, compliance with pandemic mandates, and exemption requests, marking a significant reversal of pandemic-era policies.
The order was outlined in an August 8 memorandum from Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), addressed to all federal department and agency heads. Agencies have until September 8 to confirm compliance.
“Effective immediately, federal agencies may not use an individual’s COVID-19 vaccine status, history of noncompliance with prior COVID-19 vaccine mandates, or requests for exemptions from such mandates in any employment-related decisions,” Kupor wrote. This includes hiring, promotions, disciplinary actions, and terminations.
Kupor said the directive is part of a broader Trump administration initiative to undo “harmful policies” from the Biden era. “Things got out of hand during the pandemic, and federal workers were fired, punished, or sidelined for simply making a personal medical decision. That should never have happened,” Kupor posted on X. “Thanks to @POTUS’s leadership, we’re making sure the excesses of that era do not have lingering effects on federal workers.”
In addition, agencies must expunge all records relating to vaccine status, noncompliance, or exemption requests from employees’ official personnel files, unless the employee opts out within 90 days. The requirement includes any data retained under prior documentation rules, except where preservation is mandated for ongoing litigation.
The memo references President Biden’s September 9, 2021, executive order that required federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 — a policy later blocked by a federal judge for federal contractors in December 2021 and eventually repealed by Biden himself. However, the Biden-era OPM issued follow-up guidance reminding agencies that, although the mandate was unenforceable, documentation could still be maintained.
The policy change comes amid shifting national guidance on COVID-19 vaccines. In May, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated the vaccine was no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, diverging from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s continued recommendation in its immunization schedule.
The White House has not yet commented on the memorandum.