Southwest won't put unvaccinated workers on unpaid leave

Southwest Airlines has scrapped a program that would person forced unvaccinated workers who are seeking a spiritual oregon aesculapian exemption from a company-wide vaccine mandate to instrumentality unpaid permission aft Dec. 8, CNBC and KTVT-TV successful Dallas report.

The hose is simply a national contractor, meaning that nether an bid by the Biden administration, the institution indispensable necessitate its workers to beryllium vaccinated against COVID-19.

Under Southwest's archetypal plan, workers who had applied for a spiritual oregon aesculapian exemption from the vaccine mandate but had not received a ruling from the institution would beryllium forced to instrumentality unpaid permission erstwhile the argumentation goes into effect connected Dec. 8.

However, CNBC and KTVT reported Tuesday that the institution would present let those workers whose exemption presumption is inactive pending to proceed moving truthful agelong arsenic they are "following each COVID disguise and distancing guidelines applicable to their position."

Southwest employees person until Nov. 24 to use for a aesculapian oregon spiritual exemption to the mandate.

Southwest's argumentation alteration comes astir a week aft a national justice successful Texas barred United Airlines from putting its workers connected unpaid permission portion they sought aesculapian oregon spiritual exemptions from a vaccine mandate. The ruling was made arsenic portion of a civilian suit filed by 2 employees seeking to make a class-action suit against the airline.

Last week, the Southwest said it would support its vaccine mandate successful place, adjacent though Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an enforcement bid that prevented companies from putting specified mandates successful place.

Gary Kelly, the CEO of Texas-base Southwest, told CNBC past week that helium is opposed to vaccine mandates but that his institution volition inactive mandate the shots due to the fact that they are required to by national law.

"I've ne'er been successful favour of corporations imposing that benignant of a mandate," Kelly said. "But the enforcement bid from President Biden mandates that each national employees and past each national contractors, which covers each the large airlines, person to person a (vaccine) mandate (by Dec. 8)."