XpresCheck Opens at T4
President JFKIAT Roel Huinink congratulates XpresCheck for opening the first airport Covid testing center
especially created for airport stakeholder workers. With him are ( R-L) Port Authority Executive Director Rick
Cotton, JFK Airport GM Charles Everett, XpressSpa CEO Doug Satzman, Xprescheck Physician Marcelo Venegas,
MD on hand to give a tour of the new facility.
AIRPORT VOICE, JULY 2020 5
Covid testing for workers
An exciting health announcement
was made Monday,
June 26th at JFK Airport.
XpresCheck, the airport’s fi rst
Covid Testing center, in conjunction
with JFKIAT Terminal
4 cut the ribbon at its opening
along with representatives
from the Port Authority. This
airport-based covid-19 testing
facilitity is open to all airport
employees, including airline
employees, contractors, concessionaires
and their employees,
TSA offi cers, and U.S.
Customs and Border Protection
agents.
“We are thrilled to launch
our fi rst pilot testing site at
JFK Terminal 4, and we are
hopeful that this will benefi t
airport workers,” said Doug
Satzman, XpresSpa CEO. “Together
with JFKIAT and the
Port Authority, we will support
the safety and health of
front-line airport workers and
travelers as New York’s recovery
plan takes form.
The new XpresCheck has
the capacity to screen up to
500 employees per day and
will ensure that JFK workers
have convenient access to testing
at the airport.”
The XpresCheck at JFK is a
new modular site constructed
in the Arrivals Hall at Terminal
4. The site holds nine separate
testing rooms and provides
the ability to conduct
both COVID-19 testing as well
as antibody testing. Both antibody
testing and polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) testing
are available on-site, and the
tests are sent to outside laboratories.
All insurance plans
are accepted outside of network
and all information will
remain private and HIPAA
compliant. One worker who
took the test said that it was
easy, the staff was helpful and
the facility doctor checked-in
with him after the test.
“At JFKIAT, we have always
looked for ways to better
serve our employees,
passengers, and front-line
airport workers at Terminal
4, and in the wake of the COVID
19 pandemic, ensuring
a safe environment is more
important than ever before,”
said Roel Huinink, President
and CEO of JFKIAT. “We are
very pleased to partner with
XpresSpa and the Port Authority
to launch the fi rst air
terminal testing site in the
U.S.”
Port Authority Chairman
Kevin O’Toole said, “The Port
Authority is pleased to open
the nation’s fi rst COVID-19
and antibody testing facility
for employees at JFK International
Airport with JFKIAT
and XpresSpa. The agency
will continue to enhance
safety at its facilities by piloting
the new technologies, programs,
and policies needed to
manage the impact of the corona
virus outbreak.”
“Safety and security are
the Port Authority’s top priorities,
and opening the new
XpresCheck COVID-19 pilot
program builds on measures
the agency has taken to protect
travelers and airport workers
across the region,” said Rick
Cotton, Port Authority Executive
Director. “Today’s announcement
is an important
addition to our commitment
to providing a safe facility for
workers and travelers alike.”
Satzman added, “Together
with JFKIAT and the Port Authority,
we will support the
safety and health of front-line
airport workers and travelers
as New York’s recovery plan
takes form.”
T4 at JFK International
Airport is one of the most active
air terminals in the New
York area, serving 33 international
and domestic airlines
with an annual passenger volume
of more than 21 million
travelers in 2019. From the
beginning of the COVID-19
outbreak, JFKIAT worked
with the Port Authority to
take immediate action and
implemented key response
initiatives focused on health,
hygiene, safety and creating
a contact less journey for
employees and passengers.
JFKIAT has also taken steps
to prepare for a “new normal”
as the aviation industry
enters a post-COVID-19 landscape
by collaborating closely
with business and government
agency partners to keep
the terminal safe and secure,
while winning back customer
confi dence as fl ights begin to
resume.
Airline Service workers win case
$160,000 sick leave settlement
Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Department of Consumer
and Worker Protection
(DCWP) Commissioner Lorelei
Salas recently announced
a settlement agreement with
Eulen America, a contractor
for American Airlines at JFK
Airport, to resolve violations
of the NYC Paid Safe and
Sick Leave Law. The settlement
requires the company
to pay $103,800 in restitution
to over 400 workers—including
wheelchair attendants,
customer service representatives,
baggage handlers, and
cargo agents—credit workers
with additional sick leave
worth $46,383 that they can
use through mid-2021 and
pay $9,555 in civil penalties.
“Paid safe and sick leave
is critical for the safety and
well-being of employees, especially
as we recover from
this pandemic,” said Mayor
Bill de Blasio. “No corporation
is above the law, and
thanks to the brave airline
service workers who came
forward, Eulen America will
have to pay up for disregarding
the rights of their employees.”
“We thank the Department
of Consumer and
Worker Protection for fi ghting
to protect working people
and the public health,” said
Shirley Aldebol, Vice President
of 32BJ SEIU. “As COVID
19 has shown us, airport
workers are always on the
frontlines of any health crisis
that travels around the
world.”
“Eulen’s failure to follow
the law was a disservice to
workers and the passengers
we served,” said Whitney
Moore, a former Eulen America
passenger verifi cation
agent who serviced American
Airlines. “We had to use
up all our paid sick time,
which meant I couldn’t use it
when I really needed it, that’s
not right.”
DCWP’s investigation,
which was conducted before
the COVID-19 pandemic with
complaints brought by SEIU
32BJ, found that Eulen violated
the NYC Paid Safe and
Sick Leave Law workplacewide
in several ways. First,
the company accrued sick
leave for new employees at
a rate of one hour for every
43 hours worked, instead of
the required one hour for
every 30 hours worked. Second,
Eulen had an unlawful
“use it or lose it” policy under
which employees who
did not use their sick leave
accruals by the middle of
the next year, lost the leave
they had earned. Lastly, Eulen’s
written sick leave policy
contained illegal provisions
about medical documentation,
penalizing employees
for using sick leave, requiring
advance notice for unforeseeable
uses of sick leave,
and on sick leave eligibility.
The settlement against the
airline contractor follows a
separate lawsuit fi led against
American Airlines in 2019
for violating the NYC Paid
Safe and Sick Leave Law. The
case is pending at the Offi ce
of Administrative Trials and
Hearings (OATH).
The settlement requires
the company to:
· Pay $103,800 in restitution
to more than 400 current
and former workers;
·Credit sick leave to employees
who were denied sick
leave, which is valued at approximately
$46,383;
·Pay $9,555 in civil penalties;
·Implement a safe and
sick leave policy that is compliant
with the Law and corrects
the violations in the
company’s prior policy;
·Train managers and supervisors
on the City’s Paid
Safe and Sick Leave Law; and
·Appoint a compliance offi
cer who monitors and reports
on compliance with the
Law.
DCWP recently launched
a Worker Protection Hotline
to help New York City workers
navigate the return to
work, including information
about health and safety
practices required for businesses,
protective equipment
that must be made available,
the right to sick leave, how
to fi le complaints, and more.
DCWP’s Worker Protection
Hotline is available Monday
through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. by calling 311 or 212-
436-0381. Workers are encouraged
to call the hotline
to report employers that are
not following the reopening
requirements, which can be
done anonymously.