Court: United Airlines ‘coercing’ employees to vaccinate

A Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that the vaccine mandate United Airlines has imposed on its employees amounts to coercion. 

The mandate, which was announced by United Airlines in August, allowed for religious exemptions. The catch was, even if a religious exemption was granted, the employee would still be placed on unpaid leave. 

“United has presented plaintiffs with two options: violate their religious convictions or lose all pay and benefits indefinitely,” wrote Circuit Judges Jennifer Walker Elrod and Andy Oldham in the majority opinion. “That is an impossible choice for plaintiffs who want to remain faithful but must put food on the table. In other words, United is actively coercing employees to abandon their convictions.” 

The plaintiffs are six United Airlines employees who had filed for religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate and were placed on unpaid leave. The employees lost their first court battle in November, when a federal judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction against the mandate. 

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has now deemed the mandate to be coercion and has sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who had originally declined to issue the injunction. 

“We look forward to continuing to vindicate the rights of United employees with religious or medical reasons for not being able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Mark Paoletta, attorney for the plaintiffs. “No employee should be required to forsake her beliefs or her health in order to continue working.” 

United Airlines, a company which boasts a 99% vaccination rate, had to make significant flight cancellations last month when over 3,000 employees caught COVID. 

In a related story, today, Fox News reported that the New York Department of Health will not be imposing a booster mandate on its workers due to staffing shortages. In three months, the State of New York will reassess if it still needs its current workers. If it does not, it will force them to get vaccinated or lose their job.