United Airlines agrees to baggage handling changes
Company has high rate of ergonomic injuries
United Airlines baggage handlers will get some protection from ergonomic hazards in the workplace, under what the U.S. Department of Labor is calling “a precedent-setting agreement” with the airline.
The agreement settles a lawsuit filed by the department on behalf of OSHA to eliminate several hazardous conditions its inspectors identified in United's baggage-handling operation at Newark Liberty International Airport, where United baggage handlers reported at least 622 musculoskeletal injuries from 2011 to January 2015.