A Selma auto parts manufacturer has responded to a complaint that the company retaliated against employees who raised concerns over working conditions and benefits.

“The complaint is nothing new, but just a rehash of old arguments. We believe the government’s allegations are false and will continue to defend them vigorously,” read a statement released by Lear Corp. on Wednesday.

According to a complaint filed Friday, three employees at Lear Corp.’s Renosol Seating plant in Selma complained to federal labor officials in 2014 that they’d been exposed to a chemical that caused health problems and were treated unfairly when they were transferred to another facility.

The employees say they were discriminated against for continuing to speak out about conditions at the plant, and one was fired and sued in 2015.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has asked a federal court to order Lear, which owns Renosol Seating LLC, to reinstate an employee who they contend was fired for speaking out about getting sick at the company’s Selma plant.

“Employees have the right to raise occupational safety and health concerns without the fear of retaliation,” said Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA’s regional administrator in Atlanta, in a statement. “OSHA will continue to seek litigation for companies that violate the whistleblower provisions of the OSHA Act to protect employees who report violations.”

Former employee Kim King alleges a chemical called toluene diisocyanate (TDI) used in the process of making foam for seat cushions made her and others employees sick.

The original complaint, made in 2014 by King and nine other employees, launched an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) into the plant’s air quality and levels of TDI.

Tests conducted by OSHA and an independent company between May and November 2014 showed that TDI levels in the air were within permitted limits.

“The truth of the matter is that OSHA’s own tests confirm what Lear’s independent tests show — the air quality at Lear’s Selma plant is well within allowable limits,” Lear’s statement continued. “Any ‘recommendation’ by OSHA to the contrary is neither supported by the scientific test results nor within the agency’s jurisdiction.”

The Labor Department’s complaint asked for King to be reinstated and also seeks back wages for her and two other workers who were suspended.

“I’m feeling more confident than ever that we will win the good, safe jobs that we have been fighting for, and that the Selma community deserves,” King said in a statement released by the Selma Workers Organizing Committee. “We always knew we had the right to speak out about health and safety issues at Lear. This action by the federal government should send a signal not just to Lear but to companies across the country that they have to respect the rights of workers to fight for a safe workplace.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.