EB prepared to comply with Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Groton — Electric Boat is prepared to comply with President Joe Biden’s plan to mandate that all federal contractors comply with COVID-19 protocols, including a requirement that they be vaccinated against the disease.
In an email Friday, EB President Kevin Graney informed the submarine builder's workforce that the company will comply with all protocols, which are to be issued later this month.
“These protocols are still in development and require no immediate action on the part of employers or their employees. …,” Graney wrote. “As a federal contractor, Electric Boat will comply with these protocols. However, requirements are still evolving and remain unclear at this time.”
“For EB employees who work on federal property, including SUBASE New London, other public shipyards and in-service submarines, the Department of Defense continues to evolve their COVID-19 requirements related to access to these facilities,” Graney wrote.
EB has encouraged employees to get vaccinated since the vaccine first became widely available, and continues to do so, according to Graney. EB makes the vaccine available at all company clinics and pharmacies.
EB employees are required to wear a mask indoors when they are unable to socially distance, regardless of their vaccination status.
Biden announced the federal government’s new approach to the COVID-19 pandemic in a White House speech Thursday. His edict regarding vaccinations will apply to private businesses with 100 or more employees as well as health care workers at hospitals and other facilities that accept federal reimbursements, federal contractors and most federal workers.
Republican politicians and labor leaders have voiced opposition to Biden’s plan.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
