Contractors Raise Mesothelioma Concerns After Allegedly Concealing Asbestos in California

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.

Concerned about the dangers that hiding and burying the asbestos-contaminated pipes would pose, T.C. and T.S. escalated the issue to the relevant regulatory authorities, including California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) and the California Department of Toxic Substances. Shortly after taking these steps, the two were fired, an action they believe was retaliatory. T.C. and T.S. filed a lawsuit against their former employer for wrongful termination. In California and across the nation, it is against the law for an employer to retaliate against an employee, for example, by terminating their employment for reporting unsafe or illegal practices. If T.C. and T.S. succeed in their case, they could be eligible for compensation for lost wages, emotional distress, and potentially punitive damages, which are meant to discourage similar conduct by other employers.

A Long Beach Public Works Department spokesperson claimed they did not know about any workers’ complaints or allegations. However, an independent asbestos consultant confirmed the presence of asbestos in dirt piles that T.C. and T.S. had been told to pile near a local fire station and in a debris-filled disposal pit. These findings help boost the two workers’ credibility and can help support their claims that they were wrongfully terminated for reporting serious safety violations.

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