A traveler wearing a protective mask is waiting to board a United Airlines flight at San Francisco International Airport on October 15, 2020.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
United Airlines employees who are granted exemptions from a company vaccination warrant on religious grounds will be placed on unpaid temporary leave from next month, the airline told staff on Wednesday, citing the recent increase in Covid cases.
The airline said last month that its 67,000-strong U.S. workforce should be vaccinated against Covid-19 this fall, but said it would consider exemptions for religious and personal beliefs as well as medical reasons.
Airlines ’approaches to encouraging vaccination rates for their staff have varied. Delta Air Lines is imposing a $ 200 surcharge on the company’s health care premiums for unvaccinated employees. Delta, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines will end the protection of unvaccinated employees who hire or are exposed to Covid-19.
United said Wednesday that if an employee’s request for a religious exemption is denied, he or she must be vaccinated within five weeks of the denial notification and the first shot before Sept. 27, or it will end.
Pilots, flight attendants, gatekeepers, and airport customer service agents who interact with customers who are granted these exemptions may return to work “once the pandemic recedes. significantly, “United said, without specifying the deadline.
Other employees, such as mechanics and dispatchers granted with exemptions, may return to work after the airline conducts new tests and other measures, the carrier said in a staff note. It is still determining security measures for office workers with exemptions and whether they should enter.
Staff who have medical exemptions for not receiving the vaccine will be temporarily discharged.