Kentucky factory workers say their jobs were threatened if they left shifts ahead of deadly tornado

Workers at the Kentucky candle factory that was destroyed in a deadly tornado said supervisors threatened employees that they would be fired if they left their shifts early, NBC News reported. 

In an interview, Mayfield Consumer Products (MCP) factory employee McKayla Emery said her colleagues first asked to leave the facility after the tornado sirens sounded outside the factory on Friday. 

Workers stated that they asked managers to let them take shelter at their own homes as word of the upcoming storm spread, but managers rebuffed their requests, according to NBC News. 

Emery noted she overheard managers telling four employees standing near her that “if you leave, you’re more than likely to be fired.” 

“People had questioned if they could leave or go home,” Emery said. 

Some workers left their shifts regardless of repercussions, fearing for their safety, the report said. Other employees congregated in bathrooms and inside hallways even before the tornado hit, with several still asking to go home after the immediate danger had passed, NBC News reported. 

MCP Employee Haley Conder said team leaders told her they wouldn’t let workers leave due to safety precautions, adding they sent everyone back to work after mistakenly thinking the tornado was no longer a danger. 

“‘You can’t leave. You can’t leave. You have to stay here,’” Conder said. “The situation was bad. Everyone was uncomfortable.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said at a new conference that 74 people were confirmed killed during the storm, including eight MCP employees as the facility was leveled.

In a statement, MCP spokesperson Bob Ferguson denied the allegations made by employees, saying managers and team leaders had to undergo a series of emergency drills that follow guidelines of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, NBC News noted. 

“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.

“Those protocols are in place and were followed,” Ferguson said.