Topic: Unpaid Leave

Thousands of police officers and firefighters in New York City and Chicago are resisting vaccine mandates, with many facing unpaid leave for non-compliance. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara have engaged in a public standoff over the "dictatorship" of the mandate. Despite claims that COVID-19 is the leading cause of death for officers, data analysis of the Chicago Police Department suggests the actual death rate among the 12,000-person force does not statistically justify an emergency mandate.

United Airlines became the first major U.S. carrier to mandate vaccines for all employees, announcing that those with approved religious or medical exemptions will be placed on indefinite unpaid leave. The company stated that customer-facing employees with exemptions will not be allowed in the workplace until the risk of COVID-19 is deemed low enough. This move effectively bypasses the legal requirement for reasonable accommodation.