In 2016, American Airlines introduced new gray uniforms, moving away from the old blue outfits. Twin Hill, a subsidiary of Tailored Brands, was contracted by AA to supply new uniforms to their 70,000 employees. But numerous employees reported issues with the new clothing, saying it led to conditions such as skin, respiratory, eye, neurologic, gastrointestinal, and reproductive issues.
According to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents the airline’s cabin crew, there were a total of 3,758 complaints from roughly 18,000 flight attendants. Further, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health noted that 796 of the reports involved medical care. An additional 47 employees said they experienced symptoms simply from being in proximity to the uniforms, without wearing them.
But now several outlets have reported that the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for American and uniform manufacturer Twin Hill on Tuesday, tossing out the case, which was originally brought by 70 American Airline employees.
After the complaints started, American hired the testing firm Intertek to examine 123 of the new garments, as well as previous uniforms and regular retail clothing. Intertek found some potential sensitizers in the Twin Hill items but concluded it was unlikely those chemicals were uniquely responsible for the reported reactions, as they were within normal ranges.
While American chose not to recall the uniforms, the airline did offer alternatives. Employees were allowed to wear their older uniforms or purchase retail substitutes. Eventually, in June 2017, American announced that the Twin Hill uniforms would be replaced by 2020. And in 2020, the company switched to Lands’ End as its official supplier for staff uniforms.
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