Kentucky Tornado Candle Factory Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Workers at Kentucky scented candle factory Mayfield Consumer Products are suing the factory in a class action lawsuit.
- Why: The factory workers say they were told they would lose their jobs if they went home to shelter from an incoming tornado Dec. 10. Eight workers died after staying at work through the deadly tornado.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in a Kentucky state court.
Bosses at a Kentucky scented candle factory told employees they would be fired if they went home to shelter from what would turn out to be a deadly tornado on Dec. 10, a new class action alleges. The tornado went on to cause the deaths of eight workers at the factory.
Survivors of the factory collapse filed the class action lawsuit against Mayfield Consumer Products Dec. 15 in a Kentucky state court, Reuters reported.
The lawsuit alleges the company barred 110 workers from leaving the factory even though it had more than three hours’ notice before the tornado touched down.
Workers say their supervisors told them that if they left the factory, they would be fired, and even took a roll call in an attempt to work out who had left without permission, NBC News reports.
When the tornado finally came, the factory was leveled, leaving workers under rubble.
Photos of its mangled remains have become symbols of the tornado’s brutal power in Kentucky where the destruction was so severe President Biden visited to survey the damage and offer federal help.
Company Showed “Flagrant Indifference” Toward Workers, Plaintiff Says
Mayfield employee Haley Condor, 29, told NBC News that when warnings of the storm first started coming in, team leaders told her they wouldn’t let workers leave because of safety precautions and kept everyone in hallways and the bathrooms.
Once they mistakenly thought the tornado was no longer a danger, they sent everyone back to work, employees said. As the storm advanced after the second siren, the employees took shelter again.
The lights in the building started to flicker, and moments later, the structure was hit. McKayla Emery, 21, who was standing near the candle wax and fragrance room, told NBC News she was struck in the head by a piece of concrete and trapped to the ground. She is recovering in hospital.
In the lawsuit, plaintiff Elijah Johnson, 20, says the company showed “flagrant indifference” toward workers safety by forcing them to remain on the job even after they expressed concerns about the incoming storm. Johnson says in the lawsuit his back was injured when the roof landed on him during the collapse.
Plaintiffs accuse Mayfield of failing to provide a hazard-free workplace and are seeking damages. The lawsuit says the company “knew or should have known about the expected tornado and the danger of serious bodily injuries and death to its employees.”
The company has denied that it stopped employees from leaving the factory, Reuters reported.
State workplace safety regulators would investigate the factory’s collapse, officials said in response to the lawsuit.
Meanwhile in Louisiana, four nursing home residents have filed a class action lawsuit against real-estate mogul Bob Dean and seven nursing homes he owns for the “nightmarish” conditions residents endured inside Dean’s warehouse following evacuation orders for Hurricane Ida.
What do you think of the claims against the candle maker? Let us know in the comments!
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7 thoughts on8 Workers Died at a Kentucky Candle Factory After Being Told to Work Through Tornado, Now Surviving Employees Are Filing a Class Action
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Wow, apparently a candle is more important than lives. Shame on that corrupt company. Hope they are put out of business after paying out millions to those who suffered and will continue to suffer.
I say we all boycott any products that company produces
Just like if you have children, would you rather leave then at school if you have a nice deep basement or a storm shelter or a public storm shelter. No you would want your children with you where you could at least do a better job than a school with hundreds of children in an unsafe massive building. The reality is 8 Employees would have had a better chance of survival in their own choice of shelter.
My understanding is that no employees were prevented from leaving. There may have been a threat to terminate employees that decided to leave, and that’s an easy decision if you are in genuine fear for your safety.
And who is saying that employees would be safer if they had left? The tornadoes destroyed more than this candle factory. It lifted cars off of the ground, it lifted homes off of their foundations. There were tornado shelters at the candle factory, and work was stopped so employees could take cover. Does a tornado qualify as a fatal workplace accident? Force Majeure?
Most people have basements, or shelters they can go to.
If they left, it couldn’t be any worse than what they experienced by stating there.