Former United Airlines pilot fired for refusing to comply with controversial COVID-19 vaccine mandate says Chicago-based airline says vaccinated crew members “not vaccinated” Employees who encourage them to “look down on their colleagues” and turn them into a “disadvantaged class” of disabled people.
John Ellis is a veteran pilot for United Airlines, having flown as a co-pilot on several types of aircraft before becoming a Boeing 737 captain. He claims United Airlines management “harassed and mocked” him after he refused to disclose his vaccination status.
The latest lawsuit challenging United’s broad vaccination mandate was filed in the Northern District of Illinois earlier this week, accusing United of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and engaging in disability discrimination. ing.
Ellis seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
United Airlines is the first U.S. airline to impose mandatory vaccinations on its employees in August 2021. Airlines allowed unvaccinated employees to apply for medical or religious exemptions, but employees refused to disclose their vaccination status or simply refused to comply with the rules. I refused. His term was threatened with dismissal.
The assignment was quickly challenged in a Texas court by a group of pilots, flight attendants, and other employees, but after months of legal battles, a district court judge ruled in favor of United. and dismissed the lawsuit.
By November 2021, United Airlines began putting unvaccinated but exempt employees on unpaid leave, while the airline began the process of firing employees who failed to comply with the mandate.
Ellis was fired on November 1 for failing to disclose his vaccination status. He filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but the Commission refused to proceed with the case, but issued a “right to file a lawsuit” letter.
In his lawsuit, Ellis alleges that he allowed United management to ridicule unvaccinated employees as “selfish, ignorant, and a threat to other employees and passengers.” There is
Ellis has not disclosed his vaccination status in the lawsuit, but accuses United of deeming him unvaccinated simply because of his silence.
United is also fighting another lawsuit by a second veteran former United pilot who was fired in December 2021.
Andrew Risk claims he contracted COVID-19 in the same month United issued the order and his doctors advised him to get vaccinated as it could risk “serious harm”. I advised him not to take it.
According to Risk, United initially accepted his waiver application but then withdrew the approval and sacked him shortly after.
United Airlines began allowing non-vaccinated but exempt employees to return to work in March 2022. The airline claims the order allowed him to achieve over 99% vaccination coverage among its 67,000-strong US workforce.
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