Unvaccinated employees of United Airlines are allowed to return to work after the carrier imposed the strictest vaccine requirements in the US.
In August, United gave its 67,000-strong workforce until September 27 to get inoculated or be fired. More than 99% of the company's employees got the vaccine by the deadline, despite the fact that roughly 200 employees were terminated for failing to comply.
Some workers sought religious or medical exemptions from getting the vaccine. All staff with approved exemptions could keep their jobs, but those with customer-facing roles were forced to take leave or apply for a non-customer-facing position.
Unvaccinated employees with exemptions will be brought back by United on March 28.
The vice president for human resources at United said in a note that they plan to welcome back employees who have been out of work for a while.
If another variant emerges or the COVID trends suddenly reverse course, the company would reexamine the appropriate safety protocols.
According to The Wall Street Journal, people familiar with the decision said newly hired staff will still be required to be fully vaccinations.
Scott Kirby, the CEO of United, has been strict in his employee vaccine mandate, prompting criticism from Republican lawmakers like Ted Cruz of Texas.
—Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 16, 2021
Kirby has stood his ground.
Kirby said that they did this for safety.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance after seeing some of the same data as United.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
