United Airlines employees who refuse to be vaccinated for religious reasons will be sent on unpaid leave

United Airlines employees who have been granted exemptions from vaccination against COVID-19 for religious reasons will be sent on leave without pay as of October 2, 2021.

In August 2021, United Airlines said 67.000 US employees would be vaccinated against COVID-19 and would consider exemptions on religious and medical grounds as well as personal beliefs. However, due to the recent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, United Airlines has decided to place the unpaid leave rule until "Specific safety measures will be put in place for unvaccinated employees".

Employees who have received medical exemptions will be sent on temporary sick leave.

"Given the large number of people who work and travel daily through the airline, we must do everything we can to ensure their safety. As I said when we decided to introduce the vaccination policy, the world is safer when everyone is vaccinated. ”

The rule applies to all employees who have received an exemption, regardless of their role in the company. Those whose application for exemption has been denied have until September 27, 2021 to receive the first dose of vaccine. If they fail to receive the first dose of the vaccine by that date (or 5 weeks from the date of the refusal of the exemption), the employee will be fired.