Fact check: Postal workers to follow OSHA vaccine guidance

The claim: Postal workers aren't included in the Biden administration's federal vaccine mandate

The Biden administration has  tightened the leash on federal employees and businesses, issuing a number of vaccine mandates in an attempt to curb COVID-19. But some on social media are claiming not everyone is beholden to the new rules.

"Post office workers exempt from vaccine mandates...Are you paying attention yet," a Sept. 9 Facebook post reads. 

The post, which attributes its information to The Washington Post, acquired more than 900 likes and 400 shares in two days.

While the original assertion that postal workers were exempt from the vaccine mandate did come from a Washington Post reporter, that's false. Postal workers will be required to abide by the rules from the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Washington Post reporter issued an update on social media and the story itself. 

USA TODAY reached out to the post's creator for comment. 

Postal workers included under OSHA guidance, not executive order

As part of his plan to quash COVID-19, President Joe Biden announced a set of executive orders Sept. 9 that mandate vaccination for federal workers in the executive branch, as well as contractors.

He also said OSHA will issue an “emergency temporary standard” that will require businesses with more than 100 employees to fully vaccinate their workers or face weekly testing, a plan that could affect more than 80 million people.

Learn more:Who's covered by Biden's new vaccine mandates? When do they go into effect? Here's what we know.

Shortly after the news broke, Washington Post reporter Jacob Bogage tweeted that an unnamed White House official told him postal workers would not be included in Biden's vaccine requirement, though they would be "strongly encouraged" to comply.

USPS has more than 600,000 employees, according to the Pew Research Center.

But the Post reporter later issued an update on Twitter to reflect that the information was incorrect.

"JUST IN: White House official now says USPS workers ARE part of the federal vaccine mandate under OSHA jurisdiction, though technically not under the executive order," Bogage tweeted, adding that he had deleted the previous Twitter thread based on earlier reporting. 

More:'Patience is wearing thin': Biden rolls out vaccine requirements that will affect 100 million workers

Because USPS is an independent agency within the executive branch, it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the executive order. But postal workers will still be subject to the OSHA requirements, White House officials confirmed to USA TODAY.

“USPS is not included in the executive order requiring vaccination of federal employees," a White House spokesperson said in an email statement. "USPS has a separate statutory scheme and is traditionally independent of federal personnel actions like this. That said, USPS is strongly encouraged to comply. Also, OSHA will cover USPS through the ETS, meaning that postal workers will be subject to the vaccination or testing policy announced yesterday."

A spokesperson for USPS told USA TODAY in an email statement that the executive order doesn’t explicitly apply to the agency because of the same reasons outlined by the White House, adding that the agency is working with union leadership to determine how to implement OSHA's regulations.

Our rating: False

We rate the claim that postal workers are exempt from the Biden administration's vaccine mandate FALSE, because it is not supported by our research. Postal workers will be required to abide by OSHA's rules. The Washington Post reporter who first reported the detail issued a clarification on social media.

Our fact-check sources:

• USA TODAY, Sept. 9, 'Patience is wearing thin': Biden rolls out vaccine requirements that will affect 100 million workers
• USA TODAY, Sept. 10,  Who's covered by Biden's new vaccine mandates? When do they go into effect? Here's what we know.
• Jacob Bogage, Sept. 9, Twitter
• National Archives' Federal Register, retrieved Sept. 11, Postal Service
• Washington Times, Sept. 9, White House denies report of exemption for U.S. Postal Service from vaccine mandate
• Pew Research Center, May 14, 2020, The state of the U.S. Postal Service in 8 charts
• New York Post, Sept. 9, White House clarifies USPS workers will be subject to vaccine mandate
• USPS, Sept. 16, USPS Statement on COVID-19 Vaccines

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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.