Lawsuit claims Tyler Pipe fired for raising safety concerns

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TYLER, Texas — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit claiming Tyler Pipe fired an employee because he asked for a respirator to protect him from smoke and fumes in his work area.

According to the complaint made against the iron foundry on Aug. 18, the employee who was hired in October 2022 was operating a cupola, a five-story furnace that melts different types of metal into liquid. Because of the job he was doing, the worker asked the human resources manager during his job interview if he could wear a respirator. The manager said arrangements would be made.

The worker said he was fitted for a respirator but Tyler Pipe never provided one. In his first week, the employee started coughing up "black phlegm, his throat and tongue would burn, and he began having breathing problems due to excessive smoke and fumes from the cupola," the lawsuit said.

At one point, the employee decided to pick up a respirator from Tyler Pipe's dispensary and his safety supervisor yelled at him in front of his co-workers and told him to immediately take it off, the lawsuit stated.

During a meeting with supervisors, the worker claimed managers belittled him for wanting a respirator. One supervisor reassigned him to shovel gravel because the supervisor didn't want him around the metal. That manager said the worker only complained about not being able to breathe.

When the worker protested about shoveling, the same supervisor said the worker "can’t man up and just do (his) goddam job.”

The lawsuit states that the employee was ultimately fired from Tyler Pipe.

According to the Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation at Tyler Pipe after learning about the alleged retaliation. OSHA investigators in Dallas determined the company violated federal whistleblower protections by firing the employee who exercised his protected rights of asking for personal protective equipment.

“Every worker is empowered with the right to speak up if they are concerned about their safety or that of others,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin in Dallas. “Rather than fulfilling their responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace, Tyler Pipe Company terminated an employee who raised safety concerns and that is unacceptable.”

The Department of Labor is asking the federal court in Tyler to order Tyler Pipe to reimburse the employee for lost wages and other benefits that resulted from his termination.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will enforce all laws to the extent of our power to ensure all protections afforded to employees are fully exercised,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor John Rainwater in Dallas.

Tyler Pipe Company was founded in the mid-1930s and manufactures pipes and related plumbing products. The business operates an iron foundry in Tyler, and coupling and gasket manufacturing facility in Marshfield, Missouri.

Court records show Tyler Pipe has not yet filed a response.

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