Biden’s order compels inoculation of contractors; Kansas law may tie up funding
by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector
Topeka — The president of the Kansas Board of Regents offered recommendations Friday to state universities receiving federal funding that must comply with a U.S. government mandate on COVID-19 vaccination of government contractors, including grant recipients, and adhere to a Kansas law withholding state funding from universities imposing inoculation directives.
Blake Flanders, who serves as president of the board responsible for public universities, community colleges and technical colleges, said each institution should consider implementing a process to comply with federal directives covering COVID-19 vaccines for contractor employees. In addition, the federal order would require masking and physical distancing in contractor workplaces, including visitors and students, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
President Joe Biden issued the executive order in September requiring all covered employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. He adopted a limited exemption if an employee was legally entitled to an accommodation. For existing contracts, covered contractor employees must be fully vaccinated no later than Dec. 8.
The issue comes to a head in Kansas because the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University receive millions of dollars annually in federal financial support for researcher under contract. The universities face deadlines for signing contracts and agreements tied to federal aid.
The state Board of Regents, which is appointed by the governor, hasn’t established a formal policy. The board isn’t scheduled to meet again until November.
“These were guidelines from me to the universities,” Flanders said in an interview. “The universities are seeking ways they can still meet the requirements of state law and continue with these federal contracts.”
The six state universities in Kansas have hundreds of contracts with federal agencies, such as NASA, the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. There are subcontracts with large private companies that act as federal contractors. These contracts and subcontracts provide hundreds of millions of dollars to Kansas higher education and to the state of Kansas.
The Biden mandate must be incorporated into contracts awarded prior to Oct. 15 whenever that contract option or extension occurred. Through Nov. 14, federal agencies were to voluntarily include the COVID-19 clause into new contracts. Contracts set after Nov. 14 must feature the vaccination and other pandemic-related directives.
Flanders said the state universities in Kansas should draw from money outside the state budget to comply with the federal directive. That’s because Senate Bill 159, approved by the Kansas Legislature, prohibits state agencies from using money appropriated by the state to “require an individual to use a COVID-19 vaccination passport within this state for any purpose.”
Doug Girod, chancellor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, said that KU would direct all KU employees to submit proof of a full vaccination for COVID-19 by Dec. 8.
“Because of the scope of the federal order, this mandate applies to all KU employees – including student employees – on all campuses and in all KU affiliates and auxiliaries, unless an employee applies for and receives a religious or medical exemption,” Girod said. “Employees who do not comply with the vaccine requirement are subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination from employment.”
He said federal contracts that funded research, employment and educational efforts were at risk if KU didn’t align with Biden’s executive order. He recommended unvaccinated employees seek their first vaccine dose immediately, because the process could take up to six weeks.
“For this reason,” the chancellor said, “we cannot be flexible with employees who choose not to comply with the vaccine requirement.”
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