By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) – Kentucky workers at a candle factory which was damaged by a tornado last Wednesday have sued their supervisors, claiming that they threatened to fire them if the employees left as the storm approached.

Plaintiff Mayfield Consumer Products was accused of preventing 110 workers from leaving Mayfield Consumer Products’ premises in Kentucky, despite having more than 3 hours notice that the tornado would strike.

Elijah Johnson (age 20), claims that the company was indifferent to workers safety and forced them on their jobs despite having expressed concern about the coming storm.

Plaintiffs accuse the company of not providing a safe workplace and are seeking monetary damages for their employees.

Mayfield Consumer Products representative did not respond to my request for comment immediately. Employees were not prevented from leaving the plant by Mayfield Consumer Products, however.

Andy Beshear, Kentucky governor, stated Tuesday that the state’s workplace safety regulators would examine the factory’s fall.

December 10, saw a string of tornadoes that ravaged Kentucky and other states. 76 were killed in Kentucky; 22 died in Mayfield (where the candle factory was located), and eight people lost their lives.

Six workers were killed when the roof of an Amazon.com Inc warehouse collapsed in Illinois. That incident is being investigated by the U.S. safety regulator.