Federal Judge Blocks United From Putting Vaccine-Exempt Workers on Unpaid Leave

A U.S. judge in Texas on Tuesday temporarily restrained United Airlines from placing any employee on unpaid leave who receive religious exemptions from the company for COVID-19 vaccinations until Oct. 26.

The Judge also temporarily restrained the airline from denying any late requests for religious or medical accommodations. 

While supporters of vaccine mandates see them as necessary to pull the country out of the nearly two-year-old pandemic, critics are calling them unconstitutional and authoritarian. Others object to mandates on religious grounds.