An alarming report has revealed that Southwest Airlines workers suffered frostbite while on the job in the frigid winter temperatures.
According to a series of reports by the Georgetown Law National Employment Law Project (NELP), the incident occurred when some southwest employees were made to work grueling 16-hour shifts in extreme weather near the Chicago Midway Airport.
The report said temperatures dropped to as low as 7 degrees Fahrenheit during the shifts.
The employees reported that their toes and feet became numb from the cold, and some even suffered from frostbite.
The workers said that they were not provided with adequate clothing or resources to protect them in the cold temperatures, such as warm hats and layers of extra clothing.
One employee said that she even attempted to bring ice packs and warm shoes to work but was not allowed to use them.
The National Employment Law Project also found that workers were made to work in the cold with inadequate breaks and inconsistencies in heat and air conditioning in the airport terminals.
The project noted that all of these conditions combined created a dangerous and hazardous environment, leaving employees vulnerable to illness, pain and fatigue due to the cold.
According to the report, workers requested more frequent breaks and asked for warmer clothing, but their requests were largely ignored.
The condition became so dire that some employees had to call out of work due to their increasingly painful frostbite injuries.
The project said that what happened to the southwest employees is unacceptable and illegal.
They noted that employers need to be held to a higher standard and be aware of their responsibility to provide their employees with a safe and healthy work environment, regardless of the weather conditions.
The situation at the southwest facilities is a glaring example of what can happen when employers don’t take proper measures to provide a safe workplace and protect their employees.
The National Employment Law Project is now lobbying to create a work environment free of hazards due to extreme temperatures. They’re also calling on Southwest Airlines to properly train their staff on proper safety protocols and to provide adequate safety equipment, especially in extreme weather conditions.
It’s clear that Southwest Airlines needs to take action to protect the safety of their employees and that employers across the country should take heed from this incident and make sure they’re following the necessary safety protocols to prevent similar occurrences of frostbite in their workplaces.
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