A former production operator and production technician filed a lawsuit against electric vehicle battery maker BlueOval SK, a joint venture created by Ford and Korean manufacturer SK On. The lead plaintiffs, Sean O’Brien and Randall Moore, allege that the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws, Western Kentucky University Public Radio reported.
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According to the complaint, BlueOval SK does not pay hourly employees at its Kentucky plant overtime for mandatory pre-shift work and only pays workers for scheduled time rather than actual time worked.
The plaintiffs explained that the facility’s workers must put on personal protective equipment, including sanitary footwear, before shifts. They added that it takes employees up to 15 minutes to walk to their stations because of the factory’s size. Once they reach their stations, they must also perform pre-shift work on machines.
The lawsuit also alleges that BlueOval SK alters and rounds workers’ clock-in and clock-out times.
O’Brien and Moore, who recently left the company, seek a jury trial through their class-action complaint.
BlueOval SK’s plant in Glendale, Kentucky, officially began commercial production in August. However, WKU Public Radio reported that workers have raised complaints for more than a year about a range of issues, including bat infestations, mold, fires, exposure to dangerous chemicals and a lack of PPE.
The plant also faces a controversial United Auto Workers union vote held shortly after commercial production began. WKU Public Radio reported that plant workers tentatively voted to join the UAW by a 526-515 margin.
The UAW issued a statement that 41 challenge ballots remain unresolved, arguing the votes are illegitimate because the workers were not on the approved voter list. The votes came from the facility’s emergency response unit, which BlueOval SK said should have voting rights.
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