As announced earlier today, HII will no longer require fully vaccinated employees to wear face masks, unless they live in a state or locale that requires it. This aligns with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Accordingly, NNS will no longer require fully vaccinated employees to wear masks.

This is promising news and a sign that COVID-19 safety protocols and lifestyle changes have paid real dividends, and we can all look forward to resuming our normal routines. We understand some people may be uncomfortable going mask free, and employees who are fully vaccinated can continue to wear masks if they desire.

Unvaccinated employees and those going through the vaccination process must still wear a face covering while at work and are subject to discipline, up to and including termination, if found to be unvaccinated and not wearing a mask and unable to maintain social distance. Unvaccinated employees can remove their masks ONLY in the following instances at NNS:

• If you are not moving from one place to another and if you are 6 feet from another person.
• When requested by Security for identity verification.
• When wearing NNS-approved respirators to perform your job.
• When performing hot work.

In order to track which employees are able to go mask free, HII is requiring all employees to self-report your vaccination status in UPoint if you received a COVID-19 vaccine in the community by logging into your UPoint account from www.hiibenefits.com. Once logged in, click the “COVID-19 Self-Reporting” banner at the top of your homepage, read the instructions and fill out the brief questionnaire. See example in the image below. You do not need to self-report on UPoint if you received your vaccination at Newport News Shipbuilding through QuadMed.

While getting the COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory, we strongly encourage it. As a reminder, employees can receive the vaccine through the NNS Vaccination Site at the Old Apprentice School gym through May 28, and at the HII Family Health Center after that. Vaccines are also available at many sites in the community.

Your perseverance and flexibility have been evident during this pandemic and have long been strengths of our workforce. Your patience and continued dedication is appreciated as we continue to navigate away from COVID-19.