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United Airlines to let unvaccinated employees return.
United Airlines will bring back 2,000 employees who were placed on unpaid leave last year because they refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
In a memo to employees on Thursday, the carrier announced that workers who avoided vaccination by claiming a medical or religious exemption will be allowed back starting March 28.
The company’s vice president of human relations, Kirk Limacher, said that United was taking the step because it expects coronavirus cases, hospitalisations and deaths to continue to drop over the next few weeks.
“Of course, if another variant emerges or the Covid trends suddenly reverse course, we will re-evaluate the appropriate safety protocols at that time,” Limacher said.
The 200 employees that did not comply with United’s mandate and as a result were fired, will not be rehired by the airline.
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Last August, United said it would require US employees to be vaccinated against Covid or face termination. More than 96% of United’s roughly 67,000 US workers were vaccinated, the company said.
Kirby in December defended the employee mandate, saying: “We did this for safety. We believe it saved lives.”
In November, a federal judge in Texas upheld United’s vaccine mandate after six employees sued to block it two months earlier. But the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals last month ruled that the federal judge must reconsider the injunction the workers sought.
United is now seeking to vacate that ruling and dismiss the appeal because of the lessening severity of the pandemic and its new policy.
“In light of these changed circumstances, plaintiffs’ preliminary-injunction motion is moot, and this Court should vacate the panel opinion and dismiss the appeal,” it said in a court filing.
A United Airlines spokeswoman said that the company still requires new employees to be vaccinated.
