Kentucky candle factory workers allegedly ordered to keep working during tornado

Roughly 110 people had stayed on the job to keep up with the demands for Christmas orders. Kentucky’s governor was shocked by the destruction and called the recent tornado the strongest they "could have possibly imagined."

A new report from NBC News spotlights claims from injured survivors that as many as fifteen workers begged the Kentucky candle factory’s managers to be allowed to leave that night, and weren’t permitted to do so.

• 21-year-old McKayla Emery said people first asked to leave after 5:30 pm. "If you leave, you’re more than likely to be fired," Emery overheard managers telling a group of workers nearby her that they wanted to leave because of the tornado. Emery was hit by a piece of concrete later that night and suffered injuries as a result of being trapped in rubble for six hours.
• 29-year-old Haley Conder said within the three to four hour window between tornado alarms, instead of allowing workers to leave they initially huddled them into hallways and bathrooms, sending them back to work after believing danger had passed. Conder said, "everyone was uncomfortable," with her claiming managers instructed her to stay no matter what.
• 20-year-old Elijah Johnson: joined in with a group of other employees in their joint request to leave because of the tornado. "I asked to leave and they told me I’d be fired," Johnson told NBC. Weather be d*mn*d, with Johnson alleging managers even took a roll call to see who left that night.

Bob Ferguson of Mayfield Consumer Products denies the story. He said the company had "a policy in place since Covid began. Employees can leave any time they want to leave and they can come back the next day."

The spokesperson says emergency drill guidelines were followed in this case. The National Guard recently told a local news outlet that all of the candle factory’s workers are accounted for as of Monday evening.

A Sunday Fox News report detailed how FEMA conducted a rescue mission, searching the building ruins for survivors.