For purposes of this article, the workers in this case will be referred to as T.C. and T.S.
In a recent troubling California case, two heavy equipment operators filed a lawsuit against their former employer, Reyes Construction, after claiming they were fired for sounding the alarm about improper asbestos handling. The two, T.C. and T.S., who were working on a public restoration project in Long Beach, California, said they discovered asbestos-containing debris at the site. They alerted their supervisor, who ignored them at first, but they were later instructed to hide and bury it. However, the two workers refused to hide the toxic material, as they believed doing so would not only endanger them and other workers, but the general public as well.
T.C. and T.S. were assigned to excavation duties as part of a larger initiative to connect the Colorado Lagoon with Alamitos Bay, a project aimed at environmental restoration. However, the two dug up asbestos-contaminated transite pipes during their work. Unlike long ago, when workers did not know about the dangers of asbestos, today workers are well informed about the risks of asbestos exposure. Most, if not all, workers know that inhaling asbestos fibers can lead to mesothelioma and other serious illnesses. That is why T.C. and T.S. reported their findings to their bosses after discovering the toxic material. Their supervisor initially told them to ignore the hazardous material, and then later told them to hide and bury the pipes without informing local officials or experts.