Delta steps up pressure on employees to get vaccinated.
Delta is intensifying pressure on employees to get vaccinated with a series of increasingly burdensome requirements over the coming weeks and months, though it stopped short of the mandates that other airlines and businesses have put in place. In a letter to employees on Wednesday, the carrier’s chief executive, Ed Bastian, said those who had not been vaccinated would immediately be required to wear masks indoors. Starting on Sept. 12, they will also have to take weekly coronavirus tests. On Sept. 30, unvaccinated workers will lose pay protection for employees who test positive for the virus and miss work while having to quarantine. Finally, starting on Nov. 1, any employee who remains unvaccinated will have to pay an additional $200 per month to remain on the company’s health care plan. “This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company,” Bastian said. “In recent weeks since the rise of the B.1.617.2 variant, all Delta employees who have been hospitalized with Covid were not fully vaccinated.” The average coronavirus-related hospitalization has cost the company about $50,000 per person, he said. (The airline had said the cost was $40,000 but later corrected the figure.) Like many large employers, Delta insures its own work force, meaning it pays health costs directly and hires insurance companies to manage its plans. The onerous requirements apply to a shrinking share of the airline’s work force, with 75% of employees now vaccinated, Bastian said.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-08-26/sky/delta-steps-up-pressure-on-employees-to-get-vaccinated
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Delta steps up pressure on employees to get vaccinated.
Delta is intensifying pressure on employees to get vaccinated with a series of increasingly burdensome requirements over the coming weeks and months, though it stopped short of the mandates that other airlines and businesses have put in place. In a letter to employees on Wednesday, the carrier’s chief executive, Ed Bastian, said those who had not been vaccinated would immediately be required to wear masks indoors. Starting on Sept. 12, they will also have to take weekly coronavirus tests. On Sept. 30, unvaccinated workers will lose pay protection for employees who test positive for the virus and miss work while having to quarantine. Finally, starting on Nov. 1, any employee who remains unvaccinated will have to pay an additional $200 per month to remain on the company’s health care plan. “This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company,” Bastian said. “In recent weeks since the rise of the B.1.617.2 variant, all Delta employees who have been hospitalized with Covid were not fully vaccinated.” The average coronavirus-related hospitalization has cost the company about $50,000 per person, he said. (The airline had said the cost was $40,000 but later corrected the figure.) Like many large employers, Delta insures its own work force, meaning it pays health costs directly and hires insurance companies to manage its plans. The onerous requirements apply to a shrinking share of the airline’s work force, with 75% of employees now vaccinated, Bastian said.<br/>
