Three former employees of Grace Community Church (GCC) are suing church leaders over what they allege was wrongful dismissal. The former maintenance workers say they were let go after complaining about being exposed to asbestos while working at one of the church-owned properties.
According to The Christian Post, a formal complaint was submitted on Friday to a California Superior Court in Los Angeles County. The complaint, obtained by the publication, states that the men were converting a nearly two-acre property in Arleta, California, into a primary school.
The claimants say that in January they discovered the flooring at the property appeared to contain asbestos. When they raised the matter with their superiors, they were assured that testing had been carried out and the results confirmed the site was asbestos-free. However, according to the lawsuit, their supervisor later admitted he had lied and that no testing had ever been conducted.
The men allege that, although they also voiced their concerns to church leaders, they continued working on the property without protective equipment until another subcontractor warned them about asbestos present in the flooring.
“In the days that followed, GCC never provided the claimants with results of asbestos testing. GCC took no action to remediate the site,” the complaint alleges. “GCC did not close down the site. Instead, the site remained open.”
The men say they refused to work until the asbestos was removed. Instead of addressing the hazard, the lawsuit claims that church leaders accused them of “spreading falsehoods about asbestos and stirring up drama.”
“GCC gave them two weeks to resign voluntarily, threatening their reputations within the church and the impact this would have on their children,” the complaint continues. “The claimants did not resign, and so after two weeks GCC dismissed them in retaliation for exposing its concealment of the dangerous asbestos to which it had subjected them.”
Solicitors representing the claimants accuse the church of retaliation and wrongful dismissal in violation of public policy. They are also requesting a jury trial to resolve their grievances.