Create account

Coverage dated October 18, 2021 to October 21, 2021

In a Reversal, Southwest Airlines Says It Won't Put Unvaccinated Workers on Unpaid Leave

Headline from NBC10 Philadelphia, from the development of Oct 20, 2021

Newest development Oct 22, 2021 · 3 reportsSouthwest Airlines won't fire unvaccinated employees: 'It makes no sense'

“We are not going to fire any employees over this,” the company’s CEO said last week.

NBC10 Philadelphia's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.

Developments in this update

3 dated developments, oldest first, newest marked. Each is named by one outlet's own headline; open its reports to see every outlet that covered it.

  1. Southwest Airlines changes stance, will not fire unvaccinated employees

    Headline from Newsweek ·

  2. Names this update

    In a Reversal, Southwest Airlines Says It Won't Put Unvaccinated Workers on Unpaid Leave

    Headline from NBC10 Philadelphia ·

  3. Newest

    Southwest Airlines won't fire unvaccinated employees: 'It makes no sense'

    Headline from FOX Business ·

Read the reports

Reports & sources

74 articles, oldest first.

  1. NBC News

    Southwest scraps plan to put unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave (opens NBC News)

    Published

    NBC News's feed description

    If exemption requests have not been reviewed or approved by Dec. 8, employees will continue to work and get paid. They will have to follow mask and social distancing guidelines.

  2. NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

    Southwest Drops Plan to Put Unvaccinated Staff on Unpaid Leave Starting in December (opens NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth)

    Published

    NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth's feed description

    Southwest and American Airlines are trying to reassure employees about job security ahead of the federal vaccine deadline.

  3. Insider

    Southwest Airlines reverses course and says it won't put unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave if they're seeking an exemption (opens Insider)

    Published

    Insider's feed description

    Southwest Airlines' unvaccinated workers with a pending exemption will no longer be put on unpaid leave if they don't get vaccinated by the December deadline.

  4. FOX Business

    Southwest Airlines scraps plans to put unvaccinated employees on unpaid leave (opens FOX Business)

    Published

    FOX Business's feed description

    Earlier this month, Southwest became the latest airline to require its employees to get inoculated by Dec. 8, although it still gave employees the option to apply for medical or religious exemptions.

  5. Townhall

    Southwest Changes Plan to Put Unvaccinated Staff Seeking Exemptions on Unpaid Leave (opens Townhall)

    Published

    Townhall's feed description

    Southwest Airlines has walked back its plan to put unvaccinated staffers who are seeking religious or medical exemptions on unpaid leave beginning in December.In a letter to staff on Friday,

  6. The Hill

    Southwest drops plan to put unvaccinated workers on unpaid leave (opens The Hill)

    Published

    The Hill's feed description

    Southwest will no longer put workers awaiting a decision on exemptions from the company's vaccine mandate on unpaid leave.

  7. NBC10 Philadelphia

    In a Reversal, Southwest Airlines Says It Won't Put Unvaccinated Workers on Unpaid Leave (opens NBC10 Philadelphia)

    Published

    NBC10 Philadelphia's feed description

    “We are not going to fire any employees over this,” the company’s CEO said last week.

  8. KAAL Rochester

    Southwest: We won't put unvaccinated workers on unpaid leave (opens KAAL Rochester)

    Published

    Richmond Times-Dispatch's feed description

    DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines will let unvaccinated employees keep working past early December instead of putting them on unpaid leave if they apply for an exemption on medical or

  9. Omaha World-Herald

    Southwest backtracks, won't put unvaccinated workers on unpaid leave (opens Omaha World-Herald)

    Published

    Omaha World-Herald's feed description

    The airline backtracked from a previous position that employees who had not been vaccinated or received an exemption would be put on unpaid leave.

  10. NPR

    Southwest Airlines will keep workers on the jobs who apply for vaccination exemptions (opens NPR)

    Published

    NPR's feed description

    The airline says the employees won't be put on leave if their exemption on religious or health grounds hasn't been processed by the Dec. 8 deadline.

  11. FOX Business

    Southwest Airlines won't fire unvaccinated employees: 'It makes no sense' (opens FOX Business)

    Published

    FOX Business's feed description

    Despite the deadline, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said during the company's third-quarter earnings call that no one will lose their job on Dec. 9 even if the airline isn't "perfectly in compliance."

  12. PolitiFact

    PolitiFact - Southwest CEO said employees won’t be fired over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate (opens PolitiFact)

    Published

    PolitiFact's feed description

    As U.S. airlines tell their employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus or risk getting fired, one company says

  13. Newsweek

    Southwest Airlines changes stance, will not fire unvaccinated employees (opens Newsweek)

    Published

    Newsweek's feed description

    "Nobody is going to lose their job on December the 9th if we're not perfectly in compliance," the company's CEO, Gary Kelly, said Thursday.

  14. Insider

    Southwest Airlines CEO says unvaccinated employees won't lose their jobs, despite a federal mandate (opens Insider)

    Published

    Insider's feed description

    It marks a softening of Southwest's stance on COVID-19 vaccines. It said early October that staff must be fully vaccinated "to continue employment."

Identical headlines usually mean shared wire copy. They are counted as separate articles but are not independent confirmation.

In a Reversal, Southwest Airlines Says It Won't Put Unvaccinated Workers on Unpaid Leave | Since Then