American airline company stimulates vaccinated employees and penalizes employees who refuse to be vaccinated

American Alaska Air Group has formed new corporate policy regarding vaccination of the employees against COVID-19. Company doesn’t make vaccination obligatory requirement to continue professional activity but will stimulate employees who got vaccination and will apply penalty measures to those who refused to be vaccinated and new employees should be vaccinated.

As to beginning of September about 75% of employees of Alaska Air Group (includes Alaska Airlines and regional air carrier Horizon Air) have vaccination certificates.

To support vaccine spreading Alaska stimulates vaccinated employees with one-time bonus payment in amount of 200 USD. At the same time airline company has introduced penalties for not vaccinated employees: in case of contact of the employee with the person with confirmed positive result of COVID-19 test (contact is determined as location in less than 2 meters from infected during more than 15 minutes during the last 24 hours) such employee will have to maintain two weeks non-reimbursable quarantine. This rule doesn’t apply to vaccinated employees. Also, airline company announced that vaccination is obligatory condition for hiring new employees.

Similar measures take other US airline companies. So, Delta Air claimed employees who haven’t been vaccinated have introduced every month 200 USD for medical insurance. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines also do not require employees directly to be vaccinated however they actively support vaccination, for example offering extra paid day-off and bonus in amount of 50 USD.

At the same time a number of airline companies for example Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines have made vaccination of employees obligatory condition.