Recent Changes to COVID-19 Policies – Part 2
Master Executive Council (MEC) and Grievance Committee
In This Update
- Presidential Executive Order Vaccination Mandate
Presidential Executive Order Vaccination Mandate
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are government contractors and their employees subject to the related vaccination requirements under the Presidential Executive Order
As you have almost certainly heard by now, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air have determined that they are federal contractors and therefore their employees are subject to the vaccination requirements under the Presidential Executive Order. See the Company email to all employees “Important information about required vaccinations“ (September 30, 2021) for more information. Southwest, American, JetBlue and other airlines have likewise determined that the mandate applies to them.
What does this mean for Air Group?
First and foremost, vaccine mandates are legal and constitutional. The government has a compelling interest in public health, and the United States Supreme Court has upheld vaccination mandates in the past. Under the Executive Order (EO), all Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees will be required to be fully vaccinated or have an approved exemption on file as early as December 8, 2021 (unless this date subsequently gets pushed).
Immunity from a prior COVID-19 infection is not sufficient under the mandate. To be considered fully vaccinated prior to that date, your last Pfizer or Moderna shot, or your single Johnson & Johnson shot, must be no later than November 24, 2021. Regular testing under the EO is not considered an adequate substitute unless it is part of an accommodation for an approved exemption on file for substantiated medical reasons or a sincerely held religious belief.
Medical / Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) exemptions
If you are unable to receive any of the available vaccines for medical reasons, your employer must attempt to reasonably accommodate your disability. An accommodation can involve making changes to your work environment to protect you and others, a long-term leave, or perhaps something in between, such as regular testing. The actual accommodation would depend both on the disability and the workplace and nature of the business. An employer is not required to make any particular accommodation you request, or to make an accommodation that would cause an undue hardship, which means great expense, inconvenience or disruption of the workplace. Alaska and Horizon management have not yet informed us how they intend to accommodate medical exemptions, or what medical evidence they will require to establish an exemption. Medical exemptions are rare, as most people can well-tolerate the COVID-19 vaccines.
Sincerely held religious belief exemptions
If an employee states that he or she has a sincerely held religious objection to vaccination, the employer must generally accept this as true—even if the religion (or other moral belief) is unfamiliar to the employer. However, employers are entitled to question and probe the belief, and may consider factors such as:
- Whether the employee has behaved in a manner markedly inconsistent with the professed belief;
- Whether the accommodation sought is a particularly desirable benefit that is likely to be sought for secular reasons;
- Whether the timing of the request renders it suspect (e.g., it follows an earlier request by the employee for the same benefit for secular reasons); and
- Whether the employer otherwise has reason to believe the accommodation is not sought for religious reasons.
Proof of vaccination
The vaccine mandate requires the Company to collect proof of vaccination from all employees who do not have a medical or religious exemption. You will not simply be able to attest that you have been vaccinated; you will be required to show one of the following:
- A copy of the record of immunization from a health care provider or pharmacy;
- A copy of the COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card;
- A copy of medical records documenting the vaccination;
- A copy of immunization records from a public health or state immunization information system; or
- A copy of any other official documentation verifying vaccination with information on the vaccine name, date(s) of administration, and the name of health care professional or clinic site administering the vaccine.
Data privacy and HIPAA
This information is not protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), because employers such as Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are not covered entities under HIPAA. According to the latest guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the employer does, however, have an obligation to safeguard this as confidential medical information under the ADA that must be stored separately from the employee’s personnel file.
AFA leaders will be meeting with management soon to gain clarity on how the Executive Order will be administered. The bottom line is that the mandate does apply to us under federal law, and we cannot negotiate around it or grieve it. AFA will continue to advocate on behalf of the entire membership and to fairly represent all Flight Attendants throughout these challenging times.
Stay tuned for more updates.
