Dept. of Administration: Announces state employee testing requirement

Exemption for Employees Who Get Vaccinated and Report Status

Madison, Wis.– Today, the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) announced a new weekly testing requirement for all executive branch employees, interns, and contractors. The testing requirement will go into effect beginning October 18, 2021, and will apply to all employees who have either not submitted their vaccination status or reported their status as not fully vaccinated.

Given the heightened risk for unvaccinated individuals, vaccination for Wisconsin state employees continues to be a top priority, along with existing requirements around testing and wearing masks. Nearly 70 percent of all executive branch employees have self-reported to be least partially vaccinated as of September 10, 2021.

“As part of our efforts to manage the state workforce, we’re looking to every tool at our disposal to address the Delta variant, including testing, wearing masks, and vaccination,” said DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “State employees are critical partners in helping us protect the people of Wisconsin, and we look forward to the day when we can all put COVID-19 in the rear view mirror.”

DOA is keeping in place previous requirements for self-reporting vaccination status and wearing masks in state facilities for executive branch employees, with a close eye on COVID-19 case activity across the state. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) reports that 56 out of 72 counties are currently experiencing very high rates of new COVID-19 infections due to the highly contagious Delta variant. In concert with DHS, DOA will be expanding testing capabilities for the state workforce, and will continue to examine other strategies as needed to provide a safe workplace for the more than 30,000 executive branch employees.

A copy of the guidance shared with all executive branch employees today is available here.