Benzinga | Aug 6, 2021 10:01AM EDT

United Airlines Demands Employees Get COVID-19 Vaccinations Or Risk Being Fired

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) has a message for its 67,000-member U.S. workforce: get vaccinated against COVID-19 or get a job elsewhere.

What Happened: United CEO Scott Kirby and President Brett Hart sent an internal memo to the airline's employees that they need be vaccinated no later than Oct. 25 or else they risk losing their jobs, CNBC reported.

In order to confirm its employees are vaccinated, the airline is requiring its workers to upload proof that they received two doses of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) or Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) vaccines or one dose of Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE:JNJ) single dose; the airline added that exceptions will be made for employees who decline the vaccine due to certain health issues or religious reasons.

"We know some of you will disagree with this decision to require the vaccine for all United employees," said Kirby and Hart in their memo. "But, we have no greater responsibility to you and your colleagues than to ensure your safety when you're at work, and the facts are crystal clear: everyone is safer when everyone is vaccinated."

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What Else Happened: United is the first major carrier to initiate this type of demand for its U.S. workforce, although the requirement mandate will not apply to the workers on the regional airlines that fly shorter routes for United.

Since June, United has required all new employees to offer proof of vaccination before beginning work. CNBC added that United officials stated approximately 90% of United's pilots and 80% of flight attendants were vaccinated, although the company's overall vaccination rate was not publicly disclosed.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.