WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (BNA) – Boeing Co. said on Tuesday it will require its 125,000 US employees to be vaccinated by Dec. 8 under President Joe Biden’s executive order for federal contractors.
“Boeing requires its US-based employees to either show evidence of vaccination or have approved reasonable accommodation (based on disability or sincere religious belief) by December 8,” the largest US aircraft maker said, according to Reuters.
The Professional Aerospace Engineering Personnel Association (SPEEA) stated that it “talks with employers to ensure that implementation gives appropriate consideration to member concerns and health issues and adheres to the terms of our negotiated contracts.”
There are just over 5,000 Boeing employees in Texas, where Republican Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday banning mandates for a COVID-19 vaccine by any entity, including private employers.
A Boeing spokeswoman said: “Because of Texas mandate law, the vaccination requirements that Boeing announced today do not apply to local sites immediately. However, once these sites become covered under the Biden Act, we expect that they will be subject to the vaccination requirements.” .
Major US airlines said they would also meet the deadline imposed on federal contractors, including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp and Alaska Airlines, as well as aircraft parts maker Spirit Aero Systems.
The White House announced the Dec. 8 deadline for federal contractor employees last month and the requirements are expected to cover millions of employees.
Government contractors International Business Machines Corp and Raytheon Technologies Corp also said they would require all US employees to be vaccinated. The White House is adding clauses to future government contracts that stipulate vaccinations.
Steve Cave, a King & Spalding attorney who specializes in government contracts, told Reuters last month that he expected the matter to affect tens of millions of American workers or more.
The Department of Labor is separately planning to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring employers with more than 100 workers to vaccinate or test them weekly — a policy expected to cover more than 80 million workers.
But that has yet to go to the White House Regulatory Office for review, indicating that ETS is still at least weeks away.
HF