Delta Air Lines to Impose Monthly Surcharge on Unvaccinated Employees

Delta Air Lines Inc. will impose a $200 monthly surcharge on employees who aren’t vaccinated against Covid-19, becoming the first major U.S. company to levy a penalty to encourage workers to get protected.

The new policy was outlined in a memo from Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian, who said 75% of the carrier’s workers already are vaccinated. Increasing cases of coronavirus linked to a “very aggressive” variant are driving the push for all employees to get the shots, he said in the note to employees Wednesday.

The fee applies to employees in the airline’s health-care plan who haven’t received shots by Nov. 1. The company also will require weekly testing for employees who aren’t vaccinated by mid-September.

Delta stopped short of a mandatory vaccine requirement like the one imposed earlier this month by United Airlines Holdings Inc. and other companies. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. also have announced vaccine requirements.

Delta is confident that its approach will succeed in moving its worker vaccination rate beyond 75%, a spokesman said when asked why the company didn’t impose a mandate. The potential penalty is “well within” legal parameters, he said.

**Source