Topline
United Airlines announced a Covid-19 vaccination requirement for all U.S.-based employees weeks ago. The airline stated Wednesday that any workers who are not required to have the vaccines due to religious or medical reasons would need to be placed on temporary leave beginning next month.
United Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane takes off from San Antonio International Airport, Texas. Getty Images
The Key Facts
According to memos from United, United will put employees who are religiously exempted from the vaccines on unpaid personal leaves Oct. 2. Employees with medical exemptions will be on medical leave. A spokesperson for United told Forbes that employees on medical leave will still receive their wages, however compensation policies will vary depending on the collective bargaining agreements between United Labor Unions and United. Unvaccinated employees will not be allowed to return to customer-facing jobs or flight attendant roles until the pandemic has subsided. However, technicians and other operational staff can resume in-person work once the company has developed new safety and testing procedures. Forbes did not get United's vaccination rate. However, the airline estimated that 90% of pilots, 80% of flight attendants, were vaccinated by the time it launched its mandate last month. It also stated in Wednesday's memo that the majority of staff who were not vaccinated at the time the requirement was announced were now vaccinated.
Important Quote
United stated in its memo that safety is paramount because of the many people who travel to and work at our facility every day. We stated when we launched our vaccination policy that everyone is safer when they are vaccinated.
Important Background
United directed its US workforce of 67,000 to be vaccinated against coronavirus in August. The United requirement would take effect in late October, or five weeks after the Food and Drug Administration approves a Covid-19 vaccine. This means that staff must be vaccinated before the end of October. Other U.S. businesses have responded to the escalating number of Covid-19 cases, and stagnant vaccination rates, by mandating some employees be vaccinated. These include Google, Disney and CVS Health, as well as Morgan Stanley. This list includes the nation's largest employer: Federal civil servants will have to get vaccinated, or face regular testing. The Pentagon has also mandated vaccines for military personnel.
Tangent
Other airlines may have different policies. Hawaiian Airlines has mandated vaccines for employees, Frontier Airlines requires unvaccinated workers submit test results, and Delta Airlines instituted a vaccine-or–test rule when community case rates were high two weeks ago. However, some carriers such as American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines are not mandating vaccines outright, CNN reported and CNBC reported last year. Delta will increase the cost of health insurance for unvaccinated employees by $200 per month beginning in November. This policy was designed to address the financial risks that the decision not to vaccinate poses to our company. American will also reportedly discontinue offering pandemic leave to non-vaccinated employees.
