Southwest, American among Texas businesses defying Abbott to comply with federal vaccine mandate

Austin News Briefs - Austin American Statesman

Two of the nation's largest airlines — Southwest Airlines and American Airlines — both based in Texas, said Tuesday they plan to follow looming federal guidelines and require that their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, despite an order from Gov. Greg Abbott that attempts to block such mandates. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines last week ordered all of its estimated 55,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID 19 by Dec. 8. That followed a directive from President Joe Biden, who in September said all private companies with more than 100 workers must require employees to be vaccinated or conduct weekly tests for the coronavirus.