Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern’s response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

Will Delta air lines’ $200 surcharge for unvaccinated employees pay off?

People in this story

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
a Delta Airlines pilot wears a face mask to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus as he walks through a terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

Delta Air Lines recently announced that its employees are required to get a COVID-19 vaccine, or face a $200 per month increase in their health insurance premiums. But the penalty may not actually help the company mitigate the risk of spreading SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, say two Northeastern scholars.

There’s a moral reason: Imposing a surcharge on employees who don’t get vaccinated may help Delta cover its increased health insurance costs, but if unvaccinated employees are willing to pay it, they’re still exposing other employees and airline customers to greater risk of infection, says Patricia Illingworth, professor of philosophy and business at Northeastern.

There’s also a purely logistical reason: Employees might not be willing to pay. And the penalty leaves Delta Air Lines on shaky legal ground, says Gary Young, professor of strategic management and healthcare systems. Delta’s policy will be phased in over the coming months: Unvaccinated employees will immediately be required to wear masks indoors on company property. Then, on Sept. 12, they’ll be required to test weekly for the virus, and isolate if the results are positive. On Nov. 1, the $200 monthly health insurance premium surcharge will go into effect.

Continue reading at News@Northeastern.

More Stories

Northeastern professor Brandon Welsh’s book Between Medicine and Criminology explores the history of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

New book from Northeastern professor looks at history of groundbreaking criminology study

05.12.2025
New Pope Leo XIV is introduced from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on May 8, 2025. (Sipa via AP Images)

As an American, what kind of influence can Pope Leo XIV wield in the Catholic Church?

05.08.2025
Caution tape

Is a serial killer stalking New England? Northeastern experts say the evidence doesn’t add up

05.13.25
All Stories