Lisa Azorit-Wortham, a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines, tested positive for COVID-19 in early April 2020 after working eight flights – including four transcontinental trips – between March 16 and March 27, 2020. During this period, neither crew nor passengers were required to wear masks, and Azorit-Wortham testified that she had minimal contact with others outside of work. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, arguing that her illness met the definition of an “occupational disease” under Washington’s Industrial Insurance Act because it arose naturally and proximately from the distinctive conditions of her employment.
Washington court rules on COVID-19 comp for flight attendants
