Pin 21-02

U.S. Department of Labor

Employment and Training Administration
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

DIRECTIVE:

JOB CORPS PROGRAM INSTRUCTION NOTICE NO. 21-02

TO:

ALL JOB CORPS NATIONAL OFFICE STAFF
ALL JOB CORPS REGIONAL OFFICE STAFF
ALL JOB CORPS CENTER DIRECTORS
ALL JOB CORPS CENTER OPERATORS
ALL NATIONAL TRAINING AND SUPPORT CONTRACTORS
ALL OUTREACH, ADMISSIONS, AND CTS CONTRACTORS

FROM:

RACHEL TORRES
National Director
Office of Job Corps

SUBJECT:

Change to Entrance Quarantine, Testing, and COVID-19 Mitigation
Requirements for Vaccinated, Partially Vaccinated, and Unvaccinated
Students

Rachel Torres

Digitally signed by Rachel
Torres
Date: 2021.10.06
08:07:01 -04'00'

1. Purpose. To provide Job Corps centers with guidance on changes to quarantine, testing, and
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) mitigation requirements in response to current
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
2. Background. Job Corps’ goal is to return to full in-person center operations as quickly and
safely as possible. While the current pandemic continues to evolve, on-center learning,
especially with the supports that come with it, is the best way for Job Corps’ students, and its
future students, to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the program. Job Corps
remains committed to providing the safest learning environment possible during the COVID19 pandemic. Multiple measures are in place to reduce COVID-19 transmission risk on Job
Corps campuses. Specifically, PIN 20-08 “Center Resumption of Operations Checklist”
follows then-current CDC guidance and requires returning students to receive testing at the
point of arrival on center, then quarantine for 14 days in a designated area on center, before
taking a second COVID-19 test at the end of quarantine.
CDC’s guidance has continued to evolve as we learn more about COVID-19 and as the
COVID-19 pandemic has changed as a result of new variants of the virus. So has Job Corps’
policy. Job Corps has issued PIN 21-01, Requirements for Assessing and Offering COVID19 Vaccination to Students, requiring centers to inquire about vaccination status and arrange
for vaccinations of students who choose vaccination. Accordingly, this PIN outlines new
testing, quarantining, and masking requirements for Job Corps students according to
vaccination status. Because CDC masking guidance is evolving, centers must keep abreast of
the most current guidance and follow all recommendations unless directed otherwise by a
subsequent PIN or communication from the Job Corps National Office.

Note on CDC Terminology and Guidance
Tracking close-contact exposures (CCE) is critical to controlling the spread of COVID-19.
Centers must follow the present CDC definition of CCE. Centers must determine CCE for
any student who tests positive for COVID-19, as described below.
The current definition of a CCE is someone who was within six feet of an infected person
(laboratory-confirmed or a clinically compatible illness) for a cumulative total of 15 minutes
or more over a 24-hour period. This definition could evolve as the pandemic continues, and
centers must be aware of current CDC guidance to comply with the requirements of this PIN.
3. Action. Centers must verify on-center students’ vaccination status, following PIN 21-01’s
procedures for inquiring with students, then implement the following requirements based on
each on-center student’s vaccination status.
For on-center students who are not vaccinated, partially vaccinated (according to current CDC
guidance), or decline to answer on vaccination status, centers must:
• Ensure student masking at all times while on center, except when eating, sleeping, or
alone in dormitory rooms, unless the student has a reasonable accommodation.
• Quarantine for seven days if a returning student receives a negative COVID-19 test
result upon arrival.
• Provide follow-up COVID-19 testing on day five to seven after beginning entrance
quarantine.
• After completing quarantine, test for COVID-19 once per week and ensure students
continue to follow social distancing and masking requirements.
• Quarantine 14 days after students’ CCE with someone determined to be infected.
• Maintain students’ quarantine for seven days following leave/PTO, with testing on day
five to seven after return.
• Monitor the status of state quarantine requirements for out-of-state travel and other
conditions and immediately report any changes to the appropriate Regional Director.
For fully vaccinated students, centers must:
• Waive entrance quarantine unless recommended by current CDC guidance. Vaccinated
students may move about center as the general student body.
• Waive quarantine and testing after leave/PTO.

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• Waive quarantine after CCE with a person determined to be infected. Monitor for
symptoms of COVID-19. Test on day three through five after CCE. If a vaccinated
student develops symptoms consistent with COVID-19, they must quarantine and test
consistent with unvaccinated students.
• Waive mask requirements in outdoor spaces on center, if presently allowed under state
and local orders pertaining to outdoor masking.
• Require indoor masking in accordance with current CDC guidance.
o Under CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated
People issued on July 27, 2021, and guidance from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB), Job Corps centers must require all staff and students—
regardless of vaccination status—to wear a mask indoors if the center is
located in an area of substantial or high community transmission of COVID19. To help determine if masking is required at your center, please consult
the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) mask requirements tool, located here.
In any event, centers must:
•

Follow existing program policies on providing reasonable accommodations for
individuals unable to comply with the above requirements due to disability and/or
religious belief, practice, or observance.

•

Ensure that any individuals seeking exemptions from these requirements due to
pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including childbearing capacity, are
not discriminated against compared to others similar in their ability or inability to work or
participate in Job Corps. Thus, to the extent that reasonable accommodations or
modifications are provided for other similarly situated students or staff members, a
pregnant student or staff member may also be entitled to accommodation or modification.

4. Effective Date. Immediately until rescinded or superseded. The DOL Office of the Senior
Procurement Executive will issue a Change Order simultaneously with this PIN by Job Corps.
5. Inquiries. Questions about the implementation of this policy guidance should be addressed to
the appropriate Contracting Officers’ Representative.

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