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Professor Files Lawsuit, Says Mold In Classroom Is Making Her Sick
POSTED: 4:15 pm EST March 19,
2004
UPDATED: 5:12 pm EST March 19,
2004
COCOA, Fla. -- A Brevard Community College professor is suing the college, because she says her classroom was full of mold, making her constantly sick.
Carolyn Hayes has been teaching at Brevard Community College for 11 years, until, she says, the mold got so bad she couldn't take it anymore.
Hayes didn't want to leave her career because of a couple of spots that look like mold or water stained ceiling tiles. But the Brevard Community College professor says her health was in jeopardy every time she taught in the library at the Cocoa campus."You can't breathe and it's hard to get air out and you wheeze and your ribcage hurts," she says.Over the years, Hayes says she has developed severe allergies and has become ultra-sensitive to dust, mold and other contaminants.Administrators moved her to the library after Hayes complained of difficulties in other rooms on campus."I don't know what it is, whether it is mold or dust or whatever. But there is something in there," says Hayes.
Now she is on unpaid leave and suing the college for her lost salary and the right to receive her state retirement benefits.A spokesperson for the college said they are forbidden from discussing pending lawsuits, but said the college routinely checks air quality when someone raises an issue. They say tests show the air in the library is cleaner than the air outdoors.Hayes says she and her lawyer have suggested five scenarios that would allow her to continue to teach, but the college has rejected them."I would just like to work. I'm not asking for anything except a clean place to work," Hayes says.The college says they try to make accommodations for their teachers when issues like this come up and they have moved Hayes around, even to different campuses.Hayes says it's not just her and that she has found nine other employees and several students who have had health problems, they believe, as a result of buildings on campus.
What Are Your Calorie Needs?Now she is on unpaid leave and suing the college for her lost salary and the right to receive her state retirement benefits.A spokesperson for the college said they are forbidden from discussing pending lawsuits, but said the college routinely checks air quality when someone raises an issue. They say tests show the air in the library is cleaner than the air outdoors.Hayes says she and her lawyer have suggested five scenarios that would allow her to continue to teach, but the college has rejected them."I would just like to work. I'm not asking for anything except a clean place to work," Hayes says.The college says they try to make accommodations for their teachers when issues like this come up and they have moved Hayes around, even to different campuses.Hayes says it's not just her and that she has found nine other employees and several students who have had health problems, they believe, as a result of buildings on campus. Previous Stories:
- February 11, 2004: Mold, Mildew Found Growing Inside Portable Classrooms
- November 10, 2003: Residents Say Moldy Apartments Are Making Them Sick
- June 12, 2003: Mold Suspected Of Making Corrections Officers Sick
- June 5, 2003: Dogs Being Used To Detect Dangerous Mold In Homes
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