United Airlines will require vaccination, and Amazon revives mask mandates.
United said Friday that it would require all US employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus starting this fall. It was the first major airline to establish such a mandate and the latest in a small but growing number of businesses to do so. Also on Friday, Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the country, and JPMorgan Chase revived mask mandates for vaccinated workers. “We hope this will only be required for a few weeks,” Amazon, which had been allowing vaccinated employees to go without face coverings, wrote to its warehouse workers on Friday. “Everyone can do their part to speed our return to normal by getting vaccinated.” JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, said unvaccinated employees must be tested at least twice a week and would not be allowed to attend indoor employee events with 25 or more people. The company’s operating committee also said in a memo that the firm “will continue with our previously stated return to the office schedule,” even as many companies, including the financial firms BlackRock and Wells Fargo, have postponed their mandatory return plans. Amazon had already told its corporate employees that they wouldn’t be recalled to the office until January, pushing back a deadline that had been set for early September. But it has not indicated any changes to its vaccination policy, which encourages but does not mandate immunization. Hours after United’s announcement, Frontier Airlines, a much smaller carrier, said it, too, would require vaccines for all employees. Frontier’s mandate begins on Oct. 1. United’s employees will be required to upload proof of vaccination within five weeks of a vaccine’s full approval by the Food and Drug Administration or by Oct. 25, whichever comes first. Those who provide proof by Sept. 20 will receive a full day’s pay, excluding pilots and flight attendants who have already received a union-negotiated bonus for getting vaccinated. So far, about 90% of United’s pilots and 80% of its flight attendants have been vaccinated, the airline said.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-08-09/star/united-airlines-will-require-vaccination-and-amazon-revives-mask-mandates
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United Airlines will require vaccination, and Amazon revives mask mandates.
United said Friday that it would require all US employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus starting this fall. It was the first major airline to establish such a mandate and the latest in a small but growing number of businesses to do so. Also on Friday, Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the country, and JPMorgan Chase revived mask mandates for vaccinated workers. “We hope this will only be required for a few weeks,” Amazon, which had been allowing vaccinated employees to go without face coverings, wrote to its warehouse workers on Friday. “Everyone can do their part to speed our return to normal by getting vaccinated.” JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, said unvaccinated employees must be tested at least twice a week and would not be allowed to attend indoor employee events with 25 or more people. The company’s operating committee also said in a memo that the firm “will continue with our previously stated return to the office schedule,” even as many companies, including the financial firms BlackRock and Wells Fargo, have postponed their mandatory return plans. Amazon had already told its corporate employees that they wouldn’t be recalled to the office until January, pushing back a deadline that had been set for early September. But it has not indicated any changes to its vaccination policy, which encourages but does not mandate immunization. Hours after United’s announcement, Frontier Airlines, a much smaller carrier, said it, too, would require vaccines for all employees. Frontier’s mandate begins on Oct. 1. United’s employees will be required to upload proof of vaccination within five weeks of a vaccine’s full approval by the Food and Drug Administration or by Oct. 25, whichever comes first. Those who provide proof by Sept. 20 will receive a full day’s pay, excluding pilots and flight attendants who have already received a union-negotiated bonus for getting vaccinated. So far, about 90% of United’s pilots and 80% of its flight attendants have been vaccinated, the airline said.<br/>
