Delta Flight Attendants Say Uniforms Made Them Sick, Sue Manufacturer

Delta Air Lines workers have filed a class-action lawsuit against a clothing manufacturer whose uniforms, they say, made them sick. A group of Delta Air Lines employees is suing Land's End, the clothing manufacturer based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

According to Traveller, the lawsuit was filed on December 31 at US District Court in Wisconsin and is similar to another suit filed by two Delta flight attendants in New York in May. The Wisconsin lawsuit was filed on behalf of 525 Delta employees.

It says that the uniforms made by Land's End were issued to 64,000 Delta employees in May 2018. These 'Passport Plum' uniforms were issued to flight attendants, ticket and gate agents, airport customer service employees, and SkyClub workers.

According to NBC News, the lawsuit claims that wearing the uniforms led to severe respiratory illnesses, sinus issues, rashes, boils, blisters, hair loss, hives, headaches, fatigue, nosebleeds and anxiety, among other health issues.

"These uniforms are very hazardous to the affected workers," Maxwell, the lead attorney in the case, said to NBC News.

Workers now want Land's End to recall the uniforms and initiate a health monitoring programme for affected employees.

Despite the lawsuit - where it was not named as a defendant - Delta Air Lines said in a statement that the uniforms are safe. "Our top priority continues to be the safety of our employees, which is why we invested in a rigorous toxicology study to determine if there was a universal scientific issue with the uniform," said the statement, according to ABC News. "The results of the study confirm our uniforms meet the highest textile standards ... with the exception of the optional flight attendant apron, which we removed from the collection."