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Delta CEO says new workers must be vaccinated against COVID-19

Current employees are ‘strongly encouraged’ to get vaccine

FILE - In this July 22, 2020 photo, a ticketing agent for Delta Airlines hands a boarding pass to a passenger as he checks in for a flight in the main terminal of Denver International Airport in Denver. Unions are gaining support in Congress for another $32 billion in federal aid to protect airline workers from layoffs for another six months. Still, it's too early to say how the issue will turn out. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) (David Zalubowski, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Delta Airlines is laying out some new COVID-19 vaccine policies.

CEO Ed Bastian says Delta will “strongly encourage” current employees to get vaccinated but that won’t be the case for new hires.

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“Any person joining Delta in the future — future employee — we’re going to mandate they be vaccinated before they can sign up with the company,” Bastian said.

Bastian said that 60% of Delta’s 75,000 employees have had at least one COVID-19 shot.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says companies can legally require employees and new hires be vaccinated, but Bastian said he doesn’t think it’s fair to force existing Delta employees to get a shot if they have a philosophical issue with it.