Lawsuit claims worker fired for requesting safety gloves

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against a paper product manufacturing company and its owner, alleging the company fired a worker for asking for safety gloves.

The DOL claims that Midvale Paper Box Co. in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, terminated an employee who asked for safety gloves to operate a shredder and baler and had previously suffered an injury while operating the machine. The worker filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, alleging that the company violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act by terminating an employee for engaging in a protected activity.

In October 2017, the company was fined more than $200,000 for nine workplace safety violations after an Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector found it failed to provide personal protective equipment and violated lockout/tagout procedures. The company is contesting the 2017 citations.

The company did not return a request for comment on the DOL lawsuit.