Federal Judge Blocks United Airlines’ Vaccine Mandate
A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked United Airlines from putting unvaccinated workers who requested exemptions from the company’s COVID-19 shot mandate on leave.
“The court is not currently ruling on the merits of the parties’ arguments on these points,” U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman wrote in his order. “Rather the court seeks simply to avoid the risk of irreparable harm to the parties and to maintain the status quo while the court holds an evidentiary hearing.”
United originally planned to put any workers who did not comply with the company’s shot order on leave. Even those who requested and were granted religious exceptions from the jab were going to be forced into medical or “indefinite unpaid leave.” Under Pittman’s new order, however, the company is not permitted to take any unvaccinated workers off of the airline’s payroll. The order expires Oct. 26.
United Airlines was one of the first airlines to force the COVID-19 shot on its employees starting in August. Nearly 600 of the company’s workers are at risk to be fired since they have yet to get the jab, in addition to the 2,000 employees who have filed requests for exemption. (Read more from “Federal Judge Blocks United Airlines’ Vaccine Mandate” HERE)
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