Trial Ordered for UAL in Harassment Case

UAL Corp.’s United Airlines must stand trial on claims of sexual harassment by a female baggage handler, a federal appeals court ruled. The appeals court reversed a judge’s decision that the former employee waited too long to sue the world’s largest air carrier. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, 2 to 1, that the statute of limitations for such claims had not expired even though the alleged on-the-job harassment by a colleague and hostility in the workplace occurred more than 300 days before the 1995 complaint was filed. The court said two incidents of possible management retaliation kept the case alive, amounting to a “continuing violation” within 300 days of the filing date. A company spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the ruling. In remanding the case back to U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., the appeals panel said the trial judge erred in granting United’s motion to dismiss the case. Shares in Elk Grove Township, Ill.-based UAL, which has agreed to buy U.S. Airways Group Inc. for $11.6 billion, rose 63 cents to close at $58.31 on the NYSE.