Major U.S. Airline to Put Unvaccinated Employees on Unpaid Leave Starting Next Month
Looks like flying the friendly skies will take on a different meaning for United Airlines employees starting this fall, thanks to revised vaccination policies.
United revealed to staff this week that employees who had been granted exemption from mandatory staff vaccinations on religious grounds will now be put on temporary unpaid leave beginning in October, as reported by Reuters.
Back in the beginning of August, the airline told employees that they must be vaccinated by October 27 or risk termination.
Related: Major U.S. Airline Becomes First to Require Employees to Be Vaccinated or Risk Termination
“We have no greater responsibility to you and your colleagues than to ensure your safety when you’re at work, and the facts are crystal clear: everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated,” United CEO Scott Kirby and President Brett Hart said in a letter to employees at the time.
The new policy seems to be abiding by that same mindset. Per CNBC, employees can request a religious exemption from the vaccine, but if denied, they will have five weeks to receive their first dose or they will be terminated. This includes any employee who interacts with customers and the public — namely pilots, flight attendants and customer-service and gate agents.
Related: American Airlines Will Cancel Hundreds of Flights Due to Staffing Shortages
"Once the pandemic meaningfully recedes, you will be welcomed back to the team on active status,” the staff memo said, which given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic could be quite a while.
United Airlines did not initially respond to Entrepreneur’s request for comment.
Though United was the first of any major U.S. airline to enforce any strict vaccination policy for employees, it now joins Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines, which both plan to end pay protection for any employees who are infected with or exposed to the coronavirus.
The airline industry reportedly saw a loss of $370 billion last year due to the pandemic, with the number of total passengers plummeting nearly 60% year over year.
