Washington state begins work on an ergo rule for airline ground crews

Tumwater, WA — Washington state has begun the development process for a rule to address work-related musculoskeletal disorders among airline ground crews.

According to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, scheduled airline ground crews file injury claims for work-related MSDs at more than 10 times the statewide average. These crews include maintenance workers and baggage handlers, who regularly engage in repetitive motions such as lifting, bending and reaching to load and unload heavy baggage.

In April 2023, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed H.B. 5217 into law, allowing L&I to implement and enforce measures aimed at reducing work-related MSDs in industries or risk classifications that have an MSD workers’ compensation claims rate at least twice as high as the state’s overall average for five consecutive years. The law states that new rules can be adopted for no more than one industry per year. 

“Scheduled airline – ground crews,” which ranked the highest of all injuries and risk classes on L&I’s November 2023 high priority list, was selected as the first industry for rulemaking under the new law.

L&I, which announced the rulemaking Oct. 29, says it plans to start the process by gathering input on specific concerns and best practices from employers and workers, along with ground crew stakeholders. The agency is also creating an advisory committee of business and labor representatives from the airline industry.

The earliest that any new rules could go into effect would be July 1, 2026.