UAL Settlement on Weight Rule Reinstated

A judge ordered UAL Corp.’s United Airlines to pay $36.5 million to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by 13 former flight attendants over the airline’s weight policy.

The original settlement was suspended in 2002 when United filed for bankruptcy. A judge reinstated the pact Wednesday.

In 2000, an appeals court had found that the weight policy for flight attendants, in place from 1980 to 1994, discriminated against women.

The airline imposed weight limits on flight attendants of both genders but set stricter standards for women, who were required to weigh between 14 and 27 pounds less than male colleagues of the same height and age.

All 13 plaintiffs, who sued in 1992, were disciplined or fired by United for violating the policy.

“We’re glad to have resolved this issue,” United spokesman Jason Schechter said, noting that the company policy was discontinued in 1994.