Employee sues College of the Mainland claiming wrongful termination

GALVESTON - A Galveston County woman has filed suit against College of the Mainland and the Texas Workforce Commission after she allegedly lost her job for filing a workers compensation claim arising from mold exposure.

In a lawsuit filed Feb. 17 in Galveston County District Court, Sharon K. Malone claims that the defendants' decision to disqualify her from receiving unemployment benefits "is erroneous and a violation of Texas law."

According to the original complaint, Malone worked for COM in the information technology department for the mathematics department from September 1993 to December 2008.

The math department had a water pipe break in 2001, and leaks became a constant occurrence for the next six years, the original petition says.

Malone shows one of the pipes that burst was a sewer pipe, which reportedly caused mold to surface at the facility housing the math department. She claims she became ill as a result of the aforementioned mold in October 2007, according to the suit.

The complainant filed a workers compensation claim only to have her injury ruled non-compensable. COM eventually fired the plaintiff, the suit states.

Malone was instructed by the Texas Department of Insurance to "bring suit in the proper court."

Attorney Anthony P. Griffin of Galveston is representing the plaintiff, and Galveston County 405th District Court Judge Wayne Mallia is presiding over the case.

Case No. 11-cv-0267