7 employees lose bid to block Hawaiian Airlines’ vaccine rule
A U.S. judge on Wednesday denied an attempt by seven employees to block Hawaiian Airlines’ policy requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or face termination.
The airline required U.S.-based employees to receive full doses of a vaccine by Nov. 1, while allowing employees to request accommodations based on disabilities or religious beliefs.
Seven employees filed a lawsuit in January accusing the airline of discrimination and retaliation. They asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the airline from enforcing the vaccine policy or requiring compliance as a term of employment.
U.S. District Judge Jill Otake in Honolulu denied the request Wednesday, saying that in other cases involving vaccine policies, “courts have consistently found that a loss of employment is not irreparable harm.”
A small percentage of employees made a choice not to get vaccinated, Otake said, noting that as of Jan. 1, 95% of the airline’s employees were vaccinated.
The plaintiffs who cited religious and medical reasons for not getting vaccinated include a flight attendant who believes her body is a “temple of the Holy Spirit and that God has directed her not to take the vaccine.”
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The airline denied their requests for exemptions.
Airline spokesperson Alex Da Silva declined to comment. Plaintiff lawyers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Airlines fall under an order from President Joe Biden’s administration that required federal contractors to get their workers vaccinated.
That requirement was not part of a separate mandate on big businesses recently blocked by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and later withdrawn by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But it has been tied up separately since early December, when a federal district judge in Georgia issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the mandate.