today:
276
yesterday:
748
Total:
1,556,783

US News

The United Airlines COVID-19 vaccine mandate has violated some employees’ religious beliefs, according to a federal appeals court.

 

The company’s mandate allows for religious exemption applications but even if those applications are granted, some employees to which they are granted are forced to stop working, receive no pay, and stop getting benefits paid by the company, a set of conditions described as unpaid leave.

 

The treatment of religious objections triggered a lawsuit, which asked a court to block the mandate for them, but a federal judge in November 2021 declined to do so, asserting plaintiffs didn’t prove they would suffer irreparably.

 

In the new ruling, dated Feb. 17, two judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found United’s treatment of religious objectors amounted to “coercion.”

 

“United has presented plaintiffs with two options: violate their religious convictions or lose all pay and benefits indefinitely. 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,” Circuit Judges Jennifer Walker Elrod, a George W. Bush appointee, and Andy Oldham, a Trump appointee, wrote in the unsigned majority opinion.

 

 

The judges noted that United CEO Scott Kirby told workers at a town hall that “very few” religious exemption applications would be accepted and that United has asked workers seeking an exemption a number of questions, such as whether they received vaccines in the past created with the help of stem cells.

 

United’s decision “to coerce the plaintiffs into violating their religious convictions” brings about a harm that “is irreparable and supports a preliminary injunction,” or a ruling that would block the mandate for them while the case is ongoing, the judges said.

 

They remanded the case back to U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, the Trump appointee who turned down the preliminary injunction request last year.

No. Subject
Notice America's Anthem
653 Russia: Countries Allowing Ukraine to Use Their Airfields ‘May Be Regarded’ as Entering Conflict file
652 [BREAKING] Ukraine, Russia Reach One Agreement During Second Round of Negotiations file
651 The Irvine Journal supports Ukraine. file
650 Presidents of 8 EU states call for immediate talks on Ukrainian membership file
649 White House Responds After Putin Raises Russia’s Nuclear Alert file
648 Tesla CEO Elon Musk Says SpaceX’s Starlink Now Active in Ukraine file
647 Germany to Send Anti-Tank Weapons, Missiles to Ukraine in Major Policy Reversal file
646 House Candidate (Democrat) Apologizes for Getting Drunk, Berating Middle School Girls at Sleepover file
645 ‘Mafia' Kills Off Three Whistleblowers Ahead Of Contentious South Korea Presidential Race file
644 Digital World Shares Surge After Launch of Donald Trump’s Truth Social file
643 TRUTH file
642 War footing file
641 US Trucker Convoy Organizer: ‘We’ve Taken Every Precaution’ to Avoid Being Crushed
640 Putin Orders Russian Troops Into Ukraine Breakaway Regions file
639 Trump’s Truth Social App Launches on Apple’s App Store on Presidents’ Day Holiday file
638 Eyes turn to Hillary Clinton, not Trump in the Russiagate scandal file
637 Ukrainian President Suggests Developing Sanction Package to Deter Russian Aggression file
636 Florida Hospital Immunity Legislation on DeSantis’s Desk Amid Growing Calls for Veto file
» United Airlines Vaccine Mandate ‘Coerced’ Employees Into ‘Violating Their Religious Convictions’
634 Family Dollar Recalls Products in 404 Stores Due to Rodent Infestation file