UNITED SETTLES DOL LAWSUIT OVER BAGGAGE HANDLERS
February 7, 2017
On December 27, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a “precedent-setting” agreement with United Airlines settling a lawsuit brought by the Department of Labor (DOL) over working conditions for the airline’s baggage handlers.
The lawsuit was filed following a 2014 OSHA inspection at Newark Liberty International Airport, in which it determined that United’s baggage handlers were exposed to various hazardous conditions that required them to repeatedly “bend, twist, reach and lift in ways that caused injuries.” OSHA stated that from 2011 to early 2015, the airline’s baggage handlers reported at least 622 musculoskeletal injuries. OSHA’s inspection also revealed five hazardous activities and conditions in United’s baggage-handling operations that contributed to the high rate of injuries. These activities and conditions included:
- Employees being exposed to repeated bending, lifting and reaching hazards due to the presence of tubular bollards in front of conveyor belts.
- The use of dual-tier conveyor belts to transport baggage in the outbound baggage room that required employees to bend over or reach overhead to access and lift baggage.
- Manually loading and unloading gate-checked baggage at passenger jet bridges in the regional terminal.
- The use of hand-held scanners at the cargo bay entrance, which exposed employees to the hazards of repeated twisting, pushing, pulling and lateral motions with the arm extended from the body.
- Prolonged loading and unloading of baggage in confined areas of the aircraft cargo bay.
As part of the settlement, United agreed to install new conveyor belts for baggage that reduce employee exposure to hazards by minimizing the amount of lifting needed. United also agreed to hire an expert to evaluate potential injury risks at United’s Newark Liberty operation and to make recommendations for improvement. United will be required to adopt these recommendations, or similar measures, and to form a safety committee consisting of the expert, management, and employee representatives. United has 90 days to complete the evaluation, and two years to implement recommendations.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665)
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