Former employee sues Sam's Club in Conroe after being forced to wear face mask
CONROE, Texas (KTRK) -- Christina Batista has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, Sam's Club in Conroe after she said she was forced to wear a face mask.
Batista was a cashier at the store and said she was told she had to wear her mask under harsh conditions, she even said her employers harassed her about it.
"They were telling me I need to put the face mask on. They were telling me that I'm not doing my job fast enough," she said. "What if I passed out?"
She claims the store's AC is always broken, so she said she would take off her mask just to catch her breath.
"And they have me up front, doing a fast paced job and I couldn't breathe in the mask," she said.
A few weeks before quitting she posted a video on YouTube in hopes of getting the attention of the company.
"There is no AC up in this store," she said in the video. "It's hard to breathe in this face mask."
She filed the lawsuit herself on July 15 and is thinking of seeking council.
She's suing for $5 million for emotional pain and distress, along with suing for harsh working conditions.
Sams club said the following:
In just over a month working for us, our understanding is Ms. Batista never asked Club management for an accommodation or expressed a health concern related to the requirement of wearing a face-covering. In fact, we have provided face shields to other associates in the Club who have followed our accommodations process. An issue with our breakroom HVAC unit did not affect the remainder of the club. We will review the complaint and respond with the Court as appropriate after we are served.
