According to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, employees who refuse to get vaccinated will have to pay a $200 a month insurance surcharge to help offset the financial burden they create for the company.

The policy, announced in a memo this week, will make Delta the first company of its size to require unvaccinated workers to help pay for a portion of the financial risk involved with employing them. According to Bastian, each employee hospitalized with COVID 19 costs the airline an average of $50,000. Delta self-insures its workforce, which means the company has to bear the brunt of employees’ COVID-related health care.

“The average hospital stay for COVID-19 has cost Delta $50,000 per person,” Bastian wrote in the memo. “This surcharge will be necessary to address the financial risk the decision to not vaccinate is creating for our company,” he continued. 

“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,” he said. Bastian estimates that 70% of employees are already at least partially vaccinated.

Delta was the first US airline to impose vaccine mandates when it began requiring new hires to show proof that they had received a COVID vaccination. However, until now, Delta had stopped short of extending the requirement to all employees. 

The $200 a month surcharge will apply to employees’ health insurance premiums and are set to begin on November 1.

In addition, unvaccinated employees will need to turn in weekly COVID tests and must wear masks indoors. Delta employees get “Pay Protection” when they contract a COVID-related illness and have to miss work. Starting September 30, only vaccinated employees who experience a breakthrough infection will qualify for the program. Unvaccinated employees will have to use their sick banks.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon ordered all US Military Servicemembers and civilian contractors to be vaccinated. In making that policy announcement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin previewed much of the same reasoning behind the Delta memo. Citing the impact that widespread COVID infections could pose to military readiness, he ordered that servicemen be vaccinated “immediately.” The Federal Government is the largest employer in the US.

Other large companies require proof of immunity to COVID of their workforces, including many of Delta’s competitors. United Airlines, Frontier, Hawaiian, Cathay Airlines, and Air Canada are now requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Alaska Airlines is considering a similar move, citing this week’s FDA General Use Authorization of the Pfizer vaccine.

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United Airlines issued a memo on Tuesday laying out the dates by which employees must receive their vaccinations against COVID-19. For those who have yet to get immunized, the timeframes are tight. 

According to the memo, “every U.S.-based United employee (including Guam and Puerto Rico) will be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and upload their vaccination record to Flying Together by September 27, 2021,” to remain employed at the airline. 

United CEO Scott Kirby has also stated that health and religious exemptions are available for those who qualify. Few details about how this process will work have been adequately explained.

The latest date unvaccinated employees can get their first dose of the fully FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine is September 6. The FDA granted General Use Authorization status to the Pfizer vaccine on Monday of this week. 

For those receiving the Moderna vaccine, the last date to begin the two-shot process is August 30. These dates give United employees enough time to get their second doses by the September 27 cut-off date. 

Those getting the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine have until September 27, but should still get vaccinated as soon as possible in case only Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are available in their area.

Those who can show proof of vaccination before September 20 qualify for an extra day’s pay.

United Airlines: Vaccination Timeframes

August 30 – Last day to get first shot of Moderna Vaccine

August 31 – Last day to submit Reasonable Accommodation Requests*

September 6 – Last day to get first shot of Pfizer Vaccine

September 20 – Last day to qualify for a days pay by uploading proof of vaccination

September 27 – All United employees must be vaccinated by this date unless granted an exemption

*Reasonable Accommodations don’t have a deadline. The date (8/31) provided by United is intended to provide enough time for review and processing for this specific requirement’s deadline

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