Five Employees File Lawsuits Against Their Employer After Being Fired for Raising COVID-19 Concerns

Five employees who were fired after raising concerns about their employer’s handling of COVID-19 have filed a lawsuit against the Society Hill community center where they used to work.

The workers allege that they were fired in retaliation for speaking up about COVID safety — a violation of the Philadelphia whistle-blower protection law that went into effect over the summer.

The lawsuit against Old Pine Community Center, filed late last month in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, is one of the first cases citing the city’s COVID ordinance. And it’s one of the hundreds of lawsuits that have been filed on behalf of workers during the pandemic: A Philly law firm has filed two wrongful death suits against JBS and Tyson Foods on behalf of Philly-area meatpacking workers who died after contracting COVID-19 on the job. Other workers have filed discrimination suits after, for example, a refusal to grant a work from home request for an employee more at risk for COVID-19 complications.