Ex-worker files $15M lawsuit against Whole Foods

The Whole Foods Market parking lot in Westport. The Whole Foods Market parking lot in Westport. Photo: Paul Schott Photo: Paul Schott Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Ex-worker files $15M lawsuit against Whole Foods 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

BRIDGEPORT — A local meat cutter has filed a $15 million lawsuit against Whole Foods saying he was fired after he complained that the Westport store was selling tainted meat.

In his lawsuit filed in Superior Court here, Angel Figueroa, 44, said he repeatedly complained to management that the meat department staff were not following accepted hygienic practices and was fired one day after he filed a complaint with the local health department.

“Instead of doing the right thing and taking the tainted products off the shelves, they choose to retaliate against an innocent employee,” said Figueroa’s lawyer, Thomas Thornberry, of Stratford.

Mark Cooper, director of the Westport-Weston Health District, confirmed that his office had inspected the Westport Whole Foods store on Jan. 20 following Figueroa’s complaint.

“We found no violation,” he said. “There is no threat to the public health at the store. As I understand it there was an employee disciplinary process going on, the store has consistently gotten in the 90s on inspections.”

A copy of the inspection report signed by Town Sanitarian Norma Jarrett did say, however, that store and department managers at Whole foods agreed “ensure (a) corrective plan of action is put in place immediately.”

“Whole Foods Market vehemently denies the allegations presented in this case,” said spokesman Michael Sinatra. “This matter was immediately investigated and found to be untrue. Mr. Figueroa’s story is a fabrication and verified by documented health department inspection reports and team members at our Westport location. ... Since his separation, Mr. Figueroa has repeatedly attempted to extort Whole Foods Market, which is exactly what he’s attempting to do with this baseless lawsuit.”

Figueroa was hired as a meat cutter at the Westport store on Jan. 25, 2015. On July 1, 2015, the suit states, he saw staff thawing frozen chicken at room temperature, in violation of health regulations. The lawsuit claims meat that showed signs of being spoiled was also put it out for sale.

“The plaintiff advised his immediate supervisor of the health code violations however, the plaintiff was advised to stop complaining and do as he was told, and continue with the unacceptable practices,” the suit states.

Figueroa was fired on Jan. 21, one day after he complained to the health department. His termination letter states: “On January 8th Angel was put on a final warning for being insubordinate and using vulgar language during a team member training. Since that time we have found that Angel has created an uncomfortable and hostile working environment where other team members feel uncomfortable and threatened by his demeanor and behavior. Angel was also witnessed by store leadership having his cell phone out in his hand during his shift on 1/20/16. This is in violation of the company’s cell phone policy.”

According to the Westport-Weston Health District records, there have been a number of complaints made against the Westport Whole Food store that were determined to be unfounded.