American Airlines Employees File Class Action Over New Uniforms

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Two American Airlines flight attendants say their new uniforms are the cause of unusual health problems for thousands of airline employees.

Plaintiffs Thor Zurbriggen and Dena Catan claim the new uniforms purchased from defendant Twin Hill Acquisition Inc. have caused American Airlines employees to suffer a variety of health consequences. Since the uniforms were distributed last September, thousands of employees have complained of severe headaches and allergy-like symptoms, the plaintiffs allege.

Zurbriggen says that almost immediately after he received his new uniforms in November 2016, he developed “ecchymosis (a blood disorder) and rashes, respiratory problems, eye and throat irritation, severe fatigue both during and after flying, headaches and vertigo.”

He reports he switched back to his old uniforms, but his symptoms persisted while he continued to work in close quarters with other American Airlines employees wearing Twin Hill uniforms.

Catan says she tried on all her new uniform garments on the day she received them in October 2016. She says that soon afterward, she began to itch, and later that evening she developed what she describes as a blinding migraine. Her symptoms persisted for two weeks, then finally resolved when she boxed up her Twin Hill uniforms and stored them away in her garage.

The plaintiffs claim these health problems showed up in testing conducted on American Airlines pilots two years before the uniforms were finally distributed to employees. Pilots who participated in that testing allegedly reported “rashes, flu-like symptoms, headaches, vomiting, and respiratory problems.”

According to the plaintiffs, other American Airlines employees began to complain of adverse health consequences within weeks of receiving their new uniforms. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants has reportedly received over 3,700 complaints about adverse reactions to the new uniforms.

Pilots and other cockpit crew have also reported problems, according to the plaintiffs. Catan’s husband Joe, himself an American Airlines pilot, said in a company town hall meeting that he does not have a safe environment in the cockpit because of these Twin Hill uniforms.

Twin Hill insistently denies the plaintiffs’ claims. The company told the Los Angeles Times that test results show there is “absolutely no evidence linking any of the symptoms alleged to our uniforms.”

In addition to their individual claims, the two plaintiffs seek medical monitoring for a proposed plaintiff Class that would consist of all American Airlines employees who were exposed to the new Twin Hill uniforms on or after Sept. 1, 2016. Class Members could include more than 60,000 employees who received Twin Hill uniforms since that date.

They are asking for a court-supervised medical monitoring program to be funded by Twin Hill, in the interest of early detection of health problems and reducing the risk of long-term damage. They also want Twin Hill to stop selling the uniforms at issue and to recall those that have already been sold.

Plaintiffs’ counsel are attorneys Todd L. McLawhorn, Stewart M. Weltman and Michael Chang of Siprut PC.

The American Airlines Flight Attendant Uniform Health Problems Class Action Lawsuit is Zurbriggen, et al. v. Twin Hill Acquisition Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-05648, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

UPDATE: On Nov. 15, 2018, American Airlines has once again motioned to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging that its flight attendants’ uniforms can cause health problems.