Several former employees of a Texas City refinery filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in Galveston County District Court against Mobley Industrial Services Inc. and BP Company, alleging that they were fired from their positions because of retaliation.
Miguel Castillo, David Shivram, Daniel Sotelo and William Clayton Jr. are the plaintiffs in this case that were employed with Mobley Industrial Services while working at the BP Texas City refinery on March 31. The Southeast Texas Record reports that the employees were trying to blast a pipe at the refinery, but that the pipe let out hazardous materials in their vicinity.
The plaintiffs argue in their suit that the defendants told them the area was safe and instructed them to continue working for another week, even though the defendants knew that the area actually was unsafe. Mobley officials then allegedly ordered them to participate in a cover-up to save the company's contract with the BP Company.
The suit states that Mobley used intimidation tactics and sought retaliation when the workers would not comply. They plaintiffs were eventually fired from their positions and they are now seeking unspecified monetary damages with the help of a Texas employment lawyer.
FindLaw states that it's against the law for an employer to retaliate against an employee for complaining about workplace safety hazards to authorities. An employee always has the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) if an employer has violated health and safety standards.
Related Resources:
- Preventing Retaliation Claims by Employees (FindLaw)
- Workplace Health & Safety (FindLaw)
- Contact a Houston Employment Lawyer (FindLaw)
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