United Responds to Employee Lawsuit Challenging Vaccine Exemptions
This afternoon United management issue a press release and posted information on Flying Together addressing the United Airlines Employee Lawsuit Challenges Company Over Vaccine Exemptions and has provided the following information to employees pending the outcome of the litigation:
Any employee whose COVID RAP accommodation was approved will not be placed on unpaid leave prior to Oct. 15, 2021.
For employees whose RAP accommodation was denied, withdrawn or canceled, they will still have until the date communicated to them individually to get vaccinated. No action will be taken against them if they fail to get vaccinated until that date or Oct. 15, 2021, whichever is later.
No dates have changed for people who did not submit a RAP request -- the deadline remains Monday, Sept. 27, to have at least one vaccine shot.
United's statement:
Here’s the statement [United] shared with media:
Safety remains our highest priority. We will continue to vigorously defend our policy - vaccine requirements have been around for decades and have served to keep airline employees and customers safe. And with the pandemic continuing to kill more than 2,000 people every day, we remain convinced that our vaccine policy saves lives. As of today, excluding employees who have submitted exemptions, 97% of United’s U.S. employees are vaccinated.
Your MEC Officers have a number of concerns about this recent development for which answers were not immediately available. We expect to meet with United management on Monday to obtain additional information. Until that time, we do not anticipate the release of any additional information this weekend. Until then, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we pursue information to increase our understanding and yours.