Impact on Federal Construction Projects Unclear
On January 20, President Biden issued an executive order (EO) requiring the wearing of masks, adherence to physical distancing, and other public health measures as provided in CDC guidelines for on-site federal contractors and other individuals in federal buildings and on federal lands. “Federal buildings” means buildings, or office space within buildings, owned, rented, or leased by the executive branch of which a substantial portion of occupants are federal employees or federal contractors. “Federal lands” means lands under executive branch control. Based on these definitions, it would be reasonable to surmise that these requirements would not apply to federal-aid transportation construction contractors, unless they are performing work on federal lands. That stated, the EO leaves much of the details to individual federal agencies’ determination as to exactly how it will be implemented and if it impacts federal construction projects. Construction firms around the country are already following CDC guidelines and other state and local COVID safety and health requirements.