United Airlines will allow unvaccinated staff to return to work on March 28 after placing more than 2,000 employees who received religious or medical exemptions on unpaid leave, CNBC reported Thursday.
According to the outlet, the airline cited a “steep decline” in coronavirus cases as the reason for changing its policy. The move also comes just a few weeks after Airline Employees 4 Health Freedom mobilized the workers who were placed on unpaid leave to send potentially thousands of letters to the airline’s board of directors, telling them of the many hardships they have endured as the result of CEO Scott Kirby’s vaccine mandate.
Notably, United Airlines had one of the strictest coronavirus vaccine mandates in the country for a private company, even compared to competing airlines. Last August, the airline told its 67,000 U.S. employees that they would have to get vaccinated against the virus or face firing. United reported that roughly 96 percent complied with the mandate, though several hundred who refused were fired. Approximately 2,200 employees received religious and medical exemptions, though that consisted of the company granting them what it called a “reasonable accommodation” by placing them on unpaid leave and stripping them of their medical benefits.
The mandate resulted in an ongoing lawsuit. In September 2021, six United Airlines employees sued the company over the mandate on behalf of the 2,200 seeking exemptions, alleging the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against them based on their religious beliefs and medical conditions. On February 17, 2022, a federal appeals court ordered further review of United Airlines’ mandate, calling it “coercive” and reversing a lower court ruling.
According to CNBC, United “sought to vacate that ruling and dismiss the appeal” on Thursday 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.
John Sullivan, one of the attorneys representing the United Airlines employees, could not comment on next steps in the case but told Breitbart News his clients are “excited to be going back to work.”
“It’s where they should have been all along,” Sullivan said.
“We’re gratified to see United returning its employees to work since they should have never been put on unpaid leave for their faith or health. Hopefully people are beginning to see that individual rights should not be swept aside during a pandemic,” he continued.
Kirk Limacher, vice president of human resources at United Airlines, said in a staff note that the drop in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations and the end of mask mandates in several cities “suggest that the pandemic is beginning to meaningfully recede.”
“As a result, we’re confident we can safely begin the process…” [of returning staff with exemptions back to their jobs], the note reportedly said, according to CNBC.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.
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