United Airlines allows unvaccinated employees to return to work


United Airlines, among the first American companies to impose the COVID-19 vaccine, will allow employees who had been granted an exemption to return to their jobs while the American authorities on Thursday extended the obligation to wear the mask on planes .

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Company boss Scott Kirby made mandatory vaccination a workhorse in January 2021. He made it a reality in early August, giving pilots, flight attendants and ground attendants until the end of September to upload the evidence. of their vaccination or request an exemption for medical or religious reasons.

The group had finally laid off just over 200 employees and granted around 2,200 exemptions to employees.

They had been given the opportunity to work in positions without direct contact with customers, which some chose to do, while others preferred to take unpaid leave.

“We plan to welcome back employees who had been granted accommodations to their normal positions from Monday, March 28,” the group said in a message to employees sent to AFP on Thursday.

“Of course, if another variant emerges or if the trends (on the number of contaminations or hospitalizations linked to COVID) suddenly reverse, we will reassess the appropriate security protocols”, is it added.

The American authorities have at the same time extended by one month, until April 18, the obligation to wear a mask in public transport, namely planes, buses, subways and ferries.

They plan to use this period to decide under what circumstances mask wearing should remain mandatory, details a statement from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).

This decision comes at a time when a growing number of American states are reducing, or even abandoning, the obligation to wear a mask in enclosed spaces.

The CDC also largely relaxed their recommendations at the end of February on wearing a mask, which is no longer recommended indoors for the majority of the country’s inhabitants.




Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com

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