United's 'Disdain' for Vaccine Objectors Is Criticized by Judge

(Bloomberg) -- A federal judge in Texas blasted United Airlines Inc. for its treatment of employees with religious objections to the company’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, saying its use of indefinite unpaid leave to accommodate the workers is a “trifling pittance.”

While U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth on Monday denied a request by the workers to put the mandate on hold, he said he was “disturbed by United’s seemingly calloused approach to its employees’ deeply personal concerns with injecting a foreign substance into their bodies.”

The judge, appointed by former President Donald Trump, said the airline’s treatment of objectors is particularly galling to him because United said in court that “there is virtually no chance to transmit Covid-19 on its planes.”

The harsh critique shows judges may scrutinize how companies handle religious objections to the vaccines as the pandemic wears on, particularly as the Biden administration seeks to implement a mandate for employees at all companies with at least 100 workers. 

United granted about 80% of religious exemptions even as it criticized them, Pittman said. He pointed to a town-hall video in which Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby expressed “skepticism and apparent disdain for any religiously-motivated exemption requests.”

But the judge denied the request by workers for a temporary restraining order, saying they’d failed to prove “irreparable harm” from lost income. The impact of unpaid leave could still be reversed through damages if their lawsuit prevails, he said.

“The court’s analysis must be guided by the law, not by its sympathy,” Pittman said.

United said it was pleased with the decision.

“We are working to identify non-customer facing roles where accommodated employees can apply and continue working until it is safe for them to their return to their current positions,” the company said in a statement.

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