Covid: United Airlines is preparing to lay off unvaccinated employees

United Airlines has left its employees almost two months to get vaccinated against Covid 19. The airline is preparing to lay off 593 people who did not provide evidence of vaccination. In early August, the company asked its 67,000 employees living in the United States to be vaccinated, which was mandatory when the vaccines became available to the public in January.

“We are asking all United employees in the United States to be vaccinated for one simple reason: to ensure the safety of our employees,” said Scott Kirby, president of the company and a public relations officer., Bret Hart. Stubborn: “This is an incredibly difficult decision, but ensuring the safety of our team has always been our priority.

Exemption requests

Less than 3% of the staff involved, or nearly 2,000, asked for exemption from compulsory vaccination for medical or religious reasons. Of those who did not hear anything, 99% were vaccinated. According to the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws against discrimination in the workplace (EEOC), employers have the right to vaccinate employees who go to work, with exceptions for medical or religious reasons.

United Airlines originally planned to put the exempted employees on unpaid leave on October 2nd. But legal action initiated by employees who were denied exemptions is pending. So these individuals are in this company until October 15th.