Click here to see Norman Carpenter's lawsuit.
An emergency hearing has been requested to determine if Mohawk Industries tampered with potential witnesses in a federal lawsuit.
The Calhoun-based carpet manufacturer is accused of “widespread employment of illegal workers” in order to drive down wages and work-
ers compensation claims at their Northwest Georgia plants.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Rome in 2004 by a group of employees.
Now, as the case comes closer to trial, one former employee and one current employee have stepped forward saying they have been subject to intimidation and threats aimed at stopping them from testifying in the case.
Presiding judge Harold L. Murphy is expected to decide Monday if an emergency hearing is needed to address the claims, according to court officials.
Norman Carpenter, the former shift supervisor, filed his own lawsuit against Mohawk last month. He claims he was fired to stop him from testifying. Carpenter alleges Nov 28, 2006, he sent an e-mail to Becky Hale, a Mohawk Human Resources (HR) official, reporting that 90 percent of Mohawk’s temporary workers were not authorized to work in the United States.
Eight days later Carpenter was fired for “immigration crimes,” a charge he denies.
Current Mohawk employee Christina Martinez claims HR officials and her direct supervisor told her she would be fired if she enquired about workers’ legal status or read articles about the cases. In a brief filed Friday she claims this intimidation of her and other workers continues.
“I now am sure that I will be terminated if I share my knowledge about the illegal aliens at Mohawk,” Martinez states in conclusion of her declaration to the court.
If Murphy orders a hearing, Martinez and Carpenter are likely to testify.
Representatives from Mohawk have declined to comment about the case.
