Rather than force employees to be vaccinated like United Airlines, Delta Air Lines will penalize employees who refuse the jab at a rate of $200/month if they receive healthcare from Delta. It will also reduce benefits, compel masks, and force weekly testing for unvaccinated employees.
Delta Air Lines – $200 Per Month Surcharge For Not Being Vaccinated
In a memo to Delta employees by CEO Ed Bastian, Bastian noted:
“With this week’s announcement that the FDA has granted full approval for the Pfizer vaccine, the time for you to get vaccinated is now.”
Key details:
- The $200 fee applies to employees on a company health plan who have not been vaccinated by November 1st
- Starting on September 12th, those who are not vaccinated must undergo weekly testing
- It isn’t clear if this testing will be done at their own expense or at Delta’s
- Unvaccinated employees must wear masks indoors effective immediately, even if not compelled by local ordinance
- Starting on September 30th, COVID-19 pay protection will only be offered to employees who are vaccinated
Bastian said the surcharge is “to address the financial risk,” noting that Delta employees who wind up in the hospital with COVID-19 average bills of $40,000 each.
CONCLUSION
While Delta will not compel employees to be vaccinated, the $200 monthly surcharge for those who take part in the company’s healthcare plan seeks to financially incentivize the vaccination for the roughly 25% of existing employees who have yet to receive the vaccination. That $2,400/year penalty could be even higher if employees must pay for their own testing and no longer receive pay protection if they become sick at work due to COVID-19.
“ noting that Delta employees who wind up in the hospital with COVID-19 average bills of $40,000 each”
I hope they get away with this so that companies can start charging obese people more for their health coverage and I can pay less. If it’s all about personal responsibility let’s be consistent.
Dude, not all obese people are unhealthy or could change their body through “personal responsibility.” Just like there are “skinny-fat” people, essentially naturally skinny people who have health issues more associated with obesity due to lack of physical activity, poor diet, and other factors like smoking, there are plenty of people who are “fat” but actually have a clean bill of health due to healthy lifestyle choices, it’s just their bodily appearance doesn’t reflect that.
Basically obesity is not only caused by lack of personal responsibility, there are many other factors that contribute. While there is a correlation between obesity and increased medical costs, it’s nowhere near as clear of a correlation between not being vaccinated against COVID and racking up serious medical costs due to COVID.
Love it. People react much faster when it hurts their pockets.
I am unsure of the wisdom of this. I would like all the employees and passengers vaccinated if I fly.
How is the $200 calculated?
Should other risks be assigned, such as obesity? For example, a fat FA or pilot costs more in fuel and worse health so they get charged a certain amount until they lose weight?
So here we go again, but in a different approach.. get vaccinated or deal with the consequences. it’s becoming ‘small world problems’… next….
Speaking from experience, this will change some minds and cause some minds to double down on their resistance.
My company is taking the opposite approach, vaccinated employees were given a bonus. For approximately 15%, the extra money motivated them to get vaccinated. The remaining 20%ish percent were angered and accused the company of trying to bribe them.
With FDA approvals happening, we are soon going to be faced a client imposed vaccine requirement in order to work at certain project locations.
In my book, Delta employees have right to seize $200 a month in items from the airline to pay for this ridiculous surcharge and seize another $800 a month as a penalty for Delta.
On what basis? Non-vaccinated are not a specially-protected class, last time I checked. If hospital costs are indeed that high and the vaccine, though far from 100% effective, cuts down dramatically on the severity of symptoms, isn’t that a reasonable cost to pass along, just like insurance for driving a more dangerous car or choosing the seaside to build a house?
It is true that the non-vaccinated are not a “protected class.” But the problem is that the current Administration and much of the mainstream media has decided to lump this group into the same category as the “Proud Boys,” the January 6th rioters, and everyone who voted for Trump. Ergo this group has been targeted for both scorn and discrimination and are being treated as akin to the Taliban. America used to be a free country. That is changing rapidly.
Those Jan 6 freedom protestors were protesting for this very reason. People with traditional values are being economically disenfranchised and disempowered by government, government regulated industries (commercial airlines), and corporate America. People who don’t wish to have foreign substances pumped into their bodies are lumped in this category.
Rational people with reservations about vaccination are being economically disenfranchised and disempowered. Since these companies and government are being persecutory, our people ought to undermine them any way possible. These companies have lost the moral high ground.
Which book is that? The Jackson Waterson How to be a Snowflake manual? Geez. If they want the freedom to not be vaccinated, they should be able to deal with the consequences. They can find another job. Just don’t be surprised when your new job ends up requiring vaccination. The tide is turning, the sooner you all realize it, the better… All these MAGAheads don’t even see how whiny they are. As if their employer hasn’t required anything of them in the past…
This is what freedom looks like, people. You want the “freedom” to not be vaccinated? Fine. But I have the freedom to avoid your disease carrying ass. And recoup charges related to your needlessly reckless behavior.
Don’t like it? Get a job somewhere else.
Ooof Dan, Tonight look in the mirror and TRULY think of the man you have become this past 12 months. Referring to other human beings and saying “avoid your disease carrying ass.” is disgusting. The person you have become due to this pandemic is foul. Seriously –
Delta can obviously choose to treat their employees in any fashion they choose. I find it tacky and invasive.
I do hope that since they are now in the “health” business – they are also surcharging those who drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or consume other drugs, eat poorly, do not exercise, have indiscriminate sex, participate in dangerous activities… the list is endless.
Do people not see that this is ridiculous manipulation?! If companies and governments get to demand adherence on this issue, they will strive to demand obedience on all issues. It is insane that so many are willing to blindly acquiesce.
Yeah… how dare a company responsible for taking people to every corner of the globe take some very sensible precautions during a worldwide pandemic. The nerve. Next thing you know they’ll require periodic safety training!
Fun Fact: Drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, consuming drugs, eating poorly, not exercising, having indiscriminate sex, and participating in dangerous activities ARE NOT CONTAGIOUS.
Any comparison is pathetic.
Well said Ken!
Exactly! Also, when (last time I checked) about 95% of those hospitalized due to COVID and about 99.5% of the people who died of it being unvaccinated (not to mention, that almost all of the 0.5% who died that were vaccinated had severe co-morbitities), it’s hard to deny a correlation between being unvaccinated and radically increased COVID risk compared to vaccinated people. It’s simply not possible to make the same correlation from diet issues, drug/alcohol/tobacco use, lack of exercise, risky sex, etc.
I was referring to the health concerns and costs of healthcare and insurance for the employer. Furthermore, these items do cause risk to fellow employees and passengers.
If we are solely concerned about contagious issues, I suppose all employees should also show proof of constant vaccination for TB, HIV, Hepatitis, multiple seasonal flu, strep, impetigo, assorted sexually transmitted diseases, etc? They are all contagious and often more fatal than this virus. Insane, right?
Bottom line, we do not ever get to pick and choose the ailments shared by those around us. Life is terminal.
If vaccination for HIV were possible, I’m sure that many employees at Delta and elsewhere would be delighted to show their proof of immunity.
Hepatitis, Impetigo, and “assorted sexually transmitted diseases” aren’t passed in an airborne manner, so there’s no risk to employees and customers in the normal course of business.
The risk of TB has nearly been eliminated because of mass vaccination.
Life is terminal? So I’m sure you whine and complain this much about wearing a seat belt, right?
Delta’s approach isn’t a mandate, but it certainly gives employees a good reason to get vaccinated. But it isn’t alone. Many companies incentivize healthful behavior through their employee benefit programs. I’m guessing Delta, like many large companies, self-insures much of its basic healthcare cost and reinsures catastrophic losses, so Covid claims directly impact the company’s bottom line.
Bastion was on CNN yesterday talking about this. He was also asked if they plan on returning any of the $25M they received from the CARES act. He didn’t answer that directly but said, “The Cares Act will come in time to be a great ROI for the American people.” Yeah, lol. I guess he considers ordering new Airbus aircraft to fall into that category.
While I do think this is a bit tacky (and will likely be reversed … you heard it hear first), it always reveals the true heart of conservatives who supposedly “hate socialism.” When their reckless avoidance of a vaccine ends up costing everyone more, they balk at the idea of that cost not being shared. Ridiculous!