梅菲尔德消费产品蜡烛厂的工人们有8人被枪杀龙卷风上周末，他们在周三深夜对雇主提起集体诉讼。
龙卷风席卷九个州，造成89人死亡，工厂被毁。
伊莱贾·约翰逊和其他109名“处境相似的员工”在肯塔基州的格雷夫斯巡回法院提起诉讼，声称蜡烛厂要求他们继续工作，即使面临预期的危险龙卷风的威胁。
一名员工声称她被威胁说，如果她在预计会有龙卷风的晚上早点回家，就会受到纪律处分。
诉讼称，该蜡烛厂据称威胁要解雇任何因预期的龙卷风而离开的员工，就在龙卷风摧毁工厂的几个小时前。
该诉讼声称，该工厂“对原告约翰逊和其他情况类似的原告的权利表现出公然漠视，他们主观上意识到这种行为将导致人员死亡和/或身体伤害。”
列克星敦先驱报-领导人/TNS通过盖蒂图像
蜡烛厂梅菲尔德消费品公司正在进行搜救工作...
根据法庭文件，工人们据称没有被告知即将到来的龙卷风的危险，主管也没有告诉他们“真正发生了什么”。
梅菲尔德消费品公司首席执行官特洛伊·普普斯说，公司正在建立一个紧急基金来帮助员工及其家人。
这些员工正在寻求陪审团审判、赔偿、惩罚性赔偿和法律费用，所有这些都有利息。
律师威廉·戴维斯(William Davis)在周二发布的一份声明中表示:“该工厂的管理层导致、监督并促成了在照顾责任方面的体面推卸，忠诚的员工现在要么受伤，要么死亡，就在圣诞节前的两个周末。
保普斯告诉美国广播公司新闻，该公司正在对独立于州长办公室调查的程序进行独立审查，并将审查方法和程序，以确保它们得到正确遵循。
在之前的新闻报道中，工厂否认工人受到威胁。
梅菲尔德消费品公司的发言人鲍勃·弗格森说:“这绝对不是真的。”告诉美国全国广播公司新闻。“自COVID开始以来，我们就有了一项政策。员工想什么时候走就什么时候走，第二天就可以回来。”
弗格森在接受NBC新闻采访时表示，管理人员和团队负责人会按照联邦应急管理局和职业安全健康管理局的指导方针进行一系列应急演练。
“这些协议已经到位，并得到了遵守，”他说。
据美国全国广播公司(NBC)新闻报道，他否认经理告诉员工，离职意味着冒着工作风险。
梅菲尔德消费品公司的发言人没有立即回应美国广播公司新闻的置评请求。
Workers of candle factory destroyed in tornadoes file class-action lawsuit against company
Workers at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory where eight people were killed bytornadoeslast weekend filed a class-action lawsuit against their employer late Wednesday night.
The factory was destroyed when tornadoes tore through nine states, leaving 89 people dead.
The lawsuit, filed in the Graves Circuit Court in Kentucky by Elijah Johnson and 109 other "similarly situated employees," alleges that the candle factory required them to continue working, even with the threat of an expected dangerous tornado.
One employeeclaimedshe was threatened with disciplinary action if she went home early on the night tornadoes were expected.
The candle factory allegedly threatened to fire any employees that left because of the expected tornado, just hours before it destroyed the factory, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit claims the factory showed “flagrant indifference to the rights of Plaintiff Johnson and to the other similarly situated Plaintiffs with a subjective awareness that such conduct will result in human death and/or bodily injuries.”
Workers were allegedly not informed of the danger of the incoming tornado nor did supervisors tell them what was “really going on,” according to the court filing.
Mayfield Consumer Products CEO Troy Propes said the company is establishing an emergency fund to assist employees and their families.
The employees are seeking a jury trial, compensation, punitive damages and legal fees, all with interest.
“Management at that factory caused, oversaw, and facilitated a shirking of decency with regard to duties of care, and faithful employees are now injured or dead, two weekends before Christmas,” Attorney William Davis said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Propes told ABC News that the company is conducting an independent review of procedures separate from an investigation by the governor’s office and will review methods and procedures to see that they were properly followed.
In previous news reports, the factory denied that workers were threatened.
"It’s absolutely untrue,” Bob Ferguson, a spokesman for Mayfield Consumer Productstold NBC News. “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 told NBC News that managers and team leaders undergo a series of emergency drills that follow guidelines of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“Those protocols are in place and were followed,” he said.
He denied that managers told employees that leaving their shifts meant risking their jobs, according to NBC News.
A spokesperson for Mayfield Consumer Products did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
