Some 593 US employees of United Airlines (UA) who refused to comply with the company's COVID-19 vaccine mandate will lose their jobs.
Nevertheless, more than 99 percent of UA's US-based employees have got the shots by Tuesday, the deadline the Chicago-based company requires its employees to provide proof of vaccination, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.
Less than 3 percent of UA's 67,000 US employees requested religious or medical exemptions. UA said earlier this month that employees granted exemptions would be placed on temporary leave on Oct 2, while those whose requests were denied would have five weeks to get the shots or face termination.
UA would put people granted religious exemptions on unpaid leave, and those granted medical exemptions on medical leave with some form of compensation.
UA is the only major US carrier to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the report said. Delta Airlines plans to begin charging unvaccinated employees on the company's health plan a 200-US-dollar surcharge each month, starting Nov 1.
American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both have encouraged vaccines but stopped short of mandates or fees.
Under US President Joe Biden's mandate issued earlier this month, all four US carriers would be required to force their employees to get vaccinated or get tested for the virus regularly. The mandate directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop a rule requiring companies with at least 100 employees to adopt vaccination mandates or weekly testing programs, with penalties of up to 14,000 dollars per violation.
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