U.S. consumers remain undeterred from holiday shopping by inflation or COVID-19 pandemic worries, and more than three-quarters plan to spend the same or more on holiday gifts than last year, an Electronic Transactions Association survey found. ETA hired the Strawhecker Group to canvass 512 adults in late October, finding nearly half (47%) worried about the safety of shopping in-store due to COVID-19, and a majority (55%) concerned about finding empty shelves due to supply chain issues, said ETA. Consumers are turning to options like curbside pickup (71%) or delivery services (80%) “to lessen their worry,” it said.

OMB released COVID-19 vaccination rates for numerous federal agencies Wednesday morning, but the listing doesn’t include the FCC, FTC or other nonexecutive branch agencies, and neither the FCC nor FTC provided vaccination rates to Communications Daily. The FCC declined to comment on vaccination rates. The FTC didn't respond. The chart has rates for numerous other agencies, including the State Department, the EPA and the Social Security Administration. OMB lists the National Science Foundation as having a 96.2% agency-wide vaccination rate, and the Commerce Department with a 93.9% vaccination rate. As of Tuesday, all federal employees were required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with limited exceptions. OMB said 92% of the federal workforce has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. “For those employees who are not yet in compliance, agencies are beginning a period of education and counseling, followed by additional enforcement steps,” OMB said. Agencies will pause further enforcement if the employee begins the vaccination process or requests an exception. “This next stage of the process will not result in disruptions to Government services and operations and will result in more employees becoming vaccinated,” OMB said.

IBC 2021 Dec. 3-6 in Amsterdam was canceled. “The move follows growing concerns about the COVID-19 situation in The Netherlands, which has deteriorated over the past week, and feedback from the IBC exhibitor and visitor community,” said organizers Tuesday. Last week, they had decided to forge ahead (see 2111190036). The Netherlands is among destinations the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends avoiding for "very high" COVID-19 risk.

Broadpeak, a components supplier to pay-TV operators and videostreaming services, withdrew its in-person participation at the Dec. 3-6 IBC 2021 in Amsterdam after the Dutch government imposed a new partial COVID-19 lockdown through Dec. 4. Show organizers decided to go ahead with the event.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit set masking protocols for in-person oral arguments, which resume Dec. 1 (see 2110150033). Everyone must wear a KF94, KN95 or N95 mask other than judges and arguing counsel when at the lectern, the court said Wednesday. Arguing counsel who would like to speak without being masked must take a COVID-19 test the day beforehand and submit proof of a negative result by that evening, it said. Courtroom seating will be limited, with each arguing counsel getting one guest, and members of the public aren't allowed in the courtroom, it said. Oral argument audio will be livestreamed on the court's YouTube channel, it said. Everyone must wear a mask and practice physical distancing in public areas, it said. The D.C. Circuit said it has taken such precautions as outfitting its HVAC system with high-rated filters and putting auxiliary portable air filters with high-efficiency particular air filters in the courtrooms. It said tables, chairs and the lectern have been spaced out.

Automatically transition emergency broadband benefit program enrollees into the affordable connectivity program, said the National Lifeline Association in a letter to FCC posted Tuesday in docket 20-445. Lifeline subscribers should also be automatically enrolled in the new program and all enrollees should be given an opt-out notice, NaLa said. The group wants a "benefit transfer integrity check" where ACP applicants agree to stay with their chosen provider for 30 days, except when moving out of a service area, before transferring to another provider. NaLa asked that the definition of a "connected device" also be amended to define a tablet by size and "other capabilities related to online learning or telework rather than by the ability to make cellular calls."

Amazon was glad to resolve a California complaint claiming the company kept COVID-19 case information from workers, a spokesperson emailed Monday evening. Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) announced an agreement earlier that day with Amazon to change its policies (see 2111150055). Bonta “found no substantive issues with the safety measures in our buildings,” and Amazon has “worked hard from the beginning of the pandemic to keep our employees safe and deliver for our customers,” spending $15 billion, “and we’ll keep doing that in months and years ahead,” the spokesperson said. The state’s complaint concerned coronavirus notifications sent to employees in bulk; it didn’t raise issues with Amazon protocols for notifying an employee who might have been in close contact to someone with COVID-19, the spokesperson said.

The digital component of CES will extend beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, said Jean Foster, CTA senior vice president-marketing and communications, at CES Unveiled New York. “When you actually allow people to join digitally, we can reach many, many more people, so that will be an ongoing part of the show" (see 2110260044). The pandemic forced the trade show industry to “try something different; we had to,” said CES Executive Vice President Karen Chupka Wednesday: But the value of a trade show remains “serendipity -- walking the halls and seeing new companies.” Some 1,600 companies “and counting” are exhibiting, she said. Though that’s fewer than the 4,400 at CES 2020, 1,600 is "a lot of companies to sift through on a digital platform,” she said. All CES attendees must show proof of vaccination. CTA President Gary Shapiro and Chupka said they weren’t aware of any invited keynoters who declined to participate in CES due to the vaccine requirement. A few tech executives opted out due to the vaccine requirement “because they had medical reasons,” Shapiro said. See FAQs.

“Allowing tens of thousands of federal employees to telework during the pandemic is saving lives and allowing the government to maintain operations and service to the American people,” said National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon in a statement responding to a recent letter from 42 GOP senators (see 2111040062). NTEU represents FCC employees. The letter said federal agencies should return to in-person work. “NTEU supports the continuation of maximum telework while the pandemic is ongoing,” Reardon said. “Like all workers, federal employees deserve to feel safe at work, including their commutes on public transit.” Agencies can use telework to downsize and save taxpayer money, said Reardon, responding to concerns in the letter about taxpayers paying for the leases of largely vacant federal workplaces.

Federal workers need to transition back to in-person operations, 42 Republican senators wrote the Office of Personnel Management, General Services Administration and OMB Thursday. “Americans continue to face unprecedented delays in accessing their federal government,” said the letter from Homeland Security Committee ranking member Rob Portman, Ohio; Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and others. “This is unacceptable.” If agencies are pivoting to increase off-site workers, there are costs to consider, the letter said. “Field and operational office spaces have maintained their leases during the period that a regular in-person presence has lapsed and employees continue teleworking,” lawmakers said. “This office space footprint is a drain on taxpayers who are ultimately paying the price for empty offices.” The FCC told employees this week they can work in-person starting Dec. 1 (see 2111020067). The agency shifted to new headquarters while on mandatory telework, leaving the new building at 45 L St. NE largely unused (see 2010090052). The National Treasury Employees Union seeks a more-flexible telework policy in negotiations with the FCC (see 2107130038). The senators asked OPM, GSA and OMB to provide information about federal agency return to work plans, shifts to remote work and telework productivity. NTEU didn't comment.