ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Six former employees claim that the Betty Griffin House, which is a shelter that serves domestic violence victims and runs two thrift stores, unlawfully fired employees and had hazardous safety conditions at one of the thrift shops, according to a 29-page lawsuit.
The lawsuit also outlines claims of race discrimination, retaliation and employees not receiving minimum wage.
News4Jax spoke Tuesday with one of the whistleblowers, who said she is fighting for what every employee should have.
"I want people to matter. And we're not disposable based on our standards," said Trish Van Brocklin, who said she was wrongfully terminated by the Betty Griffin House.
Van Brocklin said it was a simple request that cost 12 employees at the original Betty Griffin House Thrift Shoppe in the Anastasia Square Shopping Center their jobs this year.
According to six of the former employees who filed the lawsuit, they claim the thrift shop connected to the Betty Griffin House was forcing them to work in unsafe and hazardous conditions.
Van Brocklin said she once loved her job at the thrift store, where she worked for worked three years.
"We never had AC in the back room and it was always saturated, with the roof leaking and the black mold and the tiles were falling on us," Van Brocklin said.
She said the issues became severe in 2015 and included rats and rat feces throughout the store, black mold and fire hazards due to overstocking.
"I actually took pictures of the black mold from my cellphone and sent them to HR," Van Brocklin said.
But she said nothing was ever done.
"A new HR came in in October 2015. We walked through the store and told her our issues and still, nothing," Van Brocklin said.
Until March, when Van Brocklin and several other employees said they were fired over the phone.
According to the lawsuit, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted a walk-through of the facility in April, resulting in nearly two dozen citations. After that visit, the lawsuit states that some of the remaining employees were bullied and intimidated by management and eventually let go.
Van Brocklin said she hopes the lawsuit will urge St. Johns County to boost workplace safety standards.
"If they have certain standards that they have to meet at the St. Johns County safety shelter, we want the same kind of standards at the Betty Griffin," she said.
News4Jax spoke Tuesday with the attorney representing the former employees, who said she reiterates that multiple health hazards occurred and the visit by OSHA was the kiss of death.
News4Jax also contacted Joyce Mahr, the executive director of Betty Griffin House, several times Tuesday but has not yet heard back.