(AP) — An employee of Empire District Electric Co. alleges in a lawsuit that the utility exposed its employees to asbestos and other hazardous materials at a plant in southeast Missouri.

The lawsuit was filed last week in Jasper County Circuit Court by Les Rider, of Diamond. It seeks class-action status for employees who worked at the utility’s Riverton plant.

The lawsuit alleges that asbestos is peeling and flaking throughout the Riverton plant. It says Rider and other employees were told to get rid of various scrap materials in a way that environmental oversight employees would not find them, and that work exposed workers to asbestos fibers.

Amy Bass, spokeswoman for Empire, told the Joplin Globe (http://bit.ly/16dVuV8 ) the company does not comment on pending litigation.