DOL sues Texas pipe company over retaliatory firing
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The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday announced it filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit against a Tyler, Texas-based company over allegations it fired a worker who had requested to use a respirator to protect against workplace smoke and fumes.
The DOL’s lawsuit against Tyler Pipe Co. alleges that the worker was illegally fired in October 2022 after exercising their protected rights to request personal protective equipment.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, seeks back wages and reinstatement for the terminated employee.
The suit comes after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation into the company into the details surrounding the worker’s firing.
Tyler Pipe Co. manufactures pipes and related plumbing products. It operates an iron foundry in Tyler, a coupling and gasket manufacturing plant in Marshfield, Missouri, and has distribution centers in California and New Jersey.
The company is a subsidiary of Birmingham, Alabama-based McWane Inc.
