Report: Kentucky Factory Employees Claim Being Threatened with Firing If They Left Before Tornado

When a tornado approached Mayfield, Kentucky, on Friday, workers at a candle factory heard the sirens and wanted to leave. Now approximately five of them claim supervisors said they would be fired if they left early.

NBC News reported Monday:

For hours, as word of the coming storm spread, as many as 15 workers beseeched managers to let them take shelter at their own homes, only to have their requests rebuffed, the workers said. Fearing for their safety, some left during their shifts regardless of the repercussions.

At least eight people died in the Mayfield Consumer Products factory, which makes scented candles. The facility was leveled, and all that is left is rubble. Photos and videos of its widespread mangled remains have become symbols of the enormous destructive power of Friday’s tornado system.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday 74 people had been confirmed deceased in his state.

Video footage showed before and after images of the candle factory:

Meanwhile, 21-year-old McKayla Emery told NBC during an interview from her hospital room that employees initially asked to leave not long after the tornado sirens went off outside the factory at approximately 5:30 p.m.

The employees gathered in bathrooms and hallways but the actual tornado would not hit for several hours. Once employees decided the danger passed, some asked to return home, according to the workers.

However, supervisors and team leaders reportedly told the workers leaving might jeopardize their jobs, the employees claimed.

“If you leave, you’re more than likely to be fired,” Emery claimed she overheard managers tell some workers gathered near her who wanted to leave the facility. “I heard that with my own ears.”

Twenty-year-old Elijah Johnson was working in the rear of the building when employees hoping to go home went to talk with supervisors.

“I asked to leave and they told me I’d be fired,” Johnson claimed.

However, officials with the company denied the allegations.

“It’s absolutely untrue,” Bob Ferguson, who is a spokesman for Mayfield Consumer Products, stated. “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.”

Additionally, he denied managers told the workers that walking away from their shifts meant risking their positions.

Ferguson added that leadership undergo emergency drills compliant with guidelines from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“Those protocols are in place and were followed,” he told reporters.

The candle factory’s CEO spoke with ABC News about the recovery efforts on Sunday:

Meanwhile, families and survivors are mourning in the aftermath of the tornado that hit the candle factory where several people were killed and eight were missing, Breitbart News reported Monday.