American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have updated their policy on COVID-19 vaccinations following employee outcry over threats of firing those who aren’t vaccinated by Thanksgiving.
On Oct. 18, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union representing American Airlines’ flight attendants, stated that workers will not be fired or removed from flights if they are not vaccinated by a deadline of Nov. 24.
“Management indicated that, unlike the approach taken by United, they were exploring accommodations that would allow employees to continue to work,” the union wrote in a letter to its members.
American Airlines told CNBC that unvaccinated employees would be allowed to continue working if they receive a medical or religious exemption by the deadline or if such an exemption is pending at the time. “We want all of our team members to be vaccinated so they can continue working at American,” American’s memo read. “We need our entire team to run the airline in 2022 and beyond and are not looking to reduce headcount.”
However, American still reserves the right to terminate employees for vaccination-related reasons on a situational basis, and the company isn’t planning voluntary leave or early retirement packages for unvaccinated employees.
The deadline was imposed in response to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order #14042, which details a list of requirements for federal contractors regarding COVID-19, including a vaccine mandate. Nov. 24 was chosen to keep planes well-staffed as the busy holiday season picks up.
Southwest Airlines has made similar adjustments to their vaccination plan, including the more generous deadline of Dec. 8. While Southwest initially stated that employees who were unvaccinated by the deadline would be put on indefinite unpaid leave, unvaccinated employees will now be able to work provided they receive necessary exemptions.
These airlines’ policy adjustments come in the wake of United Airlines’ controversial handling of the executive order. United is currently firing over 200 employees for refusing to receive vaccinations, despite being temporarily blocked from carrying out this plan by a federal judge in Texas.
According to CNBC, in the case of both airlines, these rules apply only to current employees. Henceforth, all new hires will be required to be fully vaccinated.
