Gerado Guterres, 70, contracted the virus from a fellow daily employee, a lawsuit was filed Monday in Miami-Dade County. He argues the chain in the early months of the epidemic, worrying that the face mask would scare customers.
CNN reached out to the public for comment, but received no immediate response.
Gutierrez was working at Miami Beach when another employee began showing symptoms of Covid-19 on March 27-28, he claimed.
The lawsuit further alleges that the public knew or should have known that the employee displayed signs and symbols, but failed to send her home because she was not present for work.
On April 2, Guterres was told to leave home but by April 7 he had tested positive for the Covid-19, the complaint says. He died on 28 April.
The lawsuit cites complaints from other public stores about the policy of banning the wearing of masks and gloves by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency that protects workplace safety.
A March 19 complaint from a store in Palmetto Bay, Florida, alleges that the company “refuses to allow employees to wear gloves or masks because of a corporate claim that it claims to intimidate customers …”
CNHA has reached out to OSHA for comment.
“The case really belongs to the company that is making a profit on the backs of these workers and telling them you can’t wear masks, you can’t wear PPE, you can’t protect yourself,” Michael said. Attorneys representing Levin, Gutierrez’s family, told CNN.
The lawsuit seeks damages “in excess of 30 30,000 excluding interest and expenses.”
Phil Guest of CNN contributed to this report.
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