EEOC Sues United Over Handling of Disabled Workers

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The federal government sued United Airlines on Thursday, saying the airline made it too hard for workers who became disabled to switch to other jobs they could still perform.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in San Francisco named five plaintiffs for the class-action lawsuit. Five others appeared to be victims as well, said EEOC attorney William Tamayo.

"We expect that other people will come out of the woodwork as the case gets more publicity," he said.

He said the agency held settlement talks with United before filing the lawsuit but no deal resulted.

The lawsuit accuses United of "malicious and reckless conduct" and seeks lost wages and punitive damages for victims and an order that United stop discriminating against disabled workers.

The EEOC said one example is a former mechanic named Joe Boswell who worked for United in San Francisco for more than 10 years before being diagnosed with a brain tumor. After getting medical treatment he could no longer work as a mechanic, and the EEOC said United refused to hire him for other jobs for which he was qualified. It said he went on extended, involuntary leave until retiring in late 2008.

"They shouldn't have to be competing with everybody else. If they can do these jobs they should try to work out an accommodation" with the disabled worker, Tamayo said.

Chicago-based United Airlines did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Shares of United parent UAL Corp. fell 19 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $5.10 in afternoon trading Thursday.

(This version CORRECTS that lawsuit is already class-action, instead of seeking class-action status.)