Gerardo Gutierrez, 70, contracted the virus from a fellow deli employee, Monday’s lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County alleges. It contends the chain in the early months of the pandemic was worried face coverings would frighten customers.
CNN reached out to Publix for comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
Gutierrez was working at a Miami Beach location when the other employee started exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19 on March 27-28, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit further alleges that Publix knew or should have known that the employee was exhibiting signs and symptoms, but failed to send her home or ensure that she did not present for work.
On April 2, Gutierrez was told to isolate at home but by April 7, he tested positive for Covid-19, the complaint says. He died on April 28.
The lawsuit cites complaints from other Publix stores about the policy of barring the wearing of masks and gloves to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency that safeguards workplace safety.
One complaint, received on March 19 from a store in Palmetto Bay, Florida, alleged that the company was “refusing to let employees wear gloves or masks because of corporate claiming it will scare the customers …” the lawsuit notes.
CNN has reached out to OSHA for comment.
“What this case is really about is a company who is profiting off the backs of these workers, telling them you can’t wear a mask, you can’t wear PPE, you can’t protect yourself,” Michael Levine, one of the attorneys representing Gutierrez’s family, told CNN.
The lawsuit is seeking damages “in excess of $30,000 exclusive of interest and costs.”
CNN’s Phil Gast contributed to this report.