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Employees of a Kentucky candle factory allege that they were denied requests to leave work and shelter at home during thedeadly tornadoesthat ripped through the state last Friday and Saturday.
Workers at the Mayfield Consumer Products factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, claimed to NBC News that supervisors did not allow them to leave work last Friday as tornado warning sirens blared and the storm approached.
The Mayfield Consumer Products factory, which is the third-largest employer in the Western Kentucky area, had been especially busy making candles for the holiday season when the facility was leveled in the storm Friday, according to theAssociated Press.
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As of Sunday, eight people were confirmed dead from the damage to the facility, and eight were still missing, according toReuters, which reports that 110 people were working at the factory when the tornadoes came through.
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Haley Conder, 29 was one of the 110 employees working at Mayfield Consumer Products last Friday. She told NBC that around 15 employees on the night shift Friday had requested to go home after hearing the first of two emergency alarms go off outside the factory.
Conder said the second alarm went off about three or four hours later, telling NBC that employees should have been allowed to go home between the two warning sirens. After the first siren sounded, she said that workers were kept in the facility’s hallways and bathrooms because shift leaders allegedly said the employees were required to stay due to safety procedures.
When shift leaders assumed the threat had passed, they instructed employees to continue working, Conder alleged.
Mark Saxton, 37, who works at the facility as a forklift operator, agreed with Conder that he and his coworkers “should have been able to leave.”
“The first warning came, and they just had us go in the hallway. After the warning, they had us go back to work,” he said to NBC. “They never offered us to go home.”
Factory employee McKayla Emery, 21, told NBC that her coworkers began asking to leave to shelter at their own homes at around 5:30 p.m. local time last Friday when tornado sirens initially began. Emery chose to stay at the factory to get paid extra, as the facility offered overtime pay, the outlet reported.
“People had questioned if they could leave or go home,” Emery said. She added that she allegedly heard supervisors tell employees, “If you leave, you’re more than likely to be fired.” Emery told NBC, “I heard that with my own ears.”
Bob Ferguson, a spokesman for Mayfield Consumer Products, denied that employees were told they would be fired if they left Friday. He said leaders at the factory are trained in emergency procedures and follow Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines.
“It’s absolutely untrue,” he said, per NBC. “We’ve had a policy in place since Covid began. Employees can leave any time they want to leave and they can come back the next day.”
Ferguson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Ferguson told the AP that over 90 factory employees had been accounted for as of Monday. He said, “Many of the employees were gathered in the tornado shelter and after the storm was over they left the plant and went to their homes. With the power out and no landline they were hard to reach initially.”
Mayfield Consumer Products CEO Troy Propes addressed the tragedy in a statement posted to thecompany’s websitein which he confirmed the deaths of several employees.
“Our company is family-owned and our employees, some who have worked with us for many years, are cherished. We’re immediately establishing an emergency fund to assist our employees and their families,” Propes continued. “We’re grateful to the first responders who heroically assisted our employees following the storm. And, we’re thankful for those who are generously offering to assist us. Your prayers are needed and appreciated.”
source: people.com
