The family of a Walmart employee in Illinois who died from complications of COVID-19 filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday, alleging the retailer knew about the man’s symptoms and disregarded them.

Wando Evans, 51, died March 25. He was a 15-year employee of Walmart who worked as an overnight stock and maintenance associate in Evergreen Park, about 16 miles southwest of Chicago, according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Evans told store managers about his symptoms, but was ignored. The store sent him home from work on March 23 and he was found dead in his home two days later, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges the retailer knew other employees — in addition to Evans — were showing signs of the coronavirus, too. It said that another man who worked at the store died on March 29.

In a statement, Walmart said the company is “heartbroken at the passing of two associates at our Evergreen Park store and we are mourning along with their families.” 

The lawsuit alleges Walmart was negligent because it did not adequately clean the store, enforce social distancing, notify employees about colleagues who were showing coronavirus symptoms and provide protective gear, such as gloves and masks.

The retailer said it deep-cleaned the store, even though the two employees had not been there in more than a week. It said it also hired a company to clean the store and had a third-party and a health department inspect it.

Walmart said it has also increased safety measures across the company by adding sneeze guards at cash registers, putting decals on the floors about social distancing and limiting the number of customers in stores.

“We take this issue seriously and will respond with the court once we have been served with the complaint,” it said.

Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., has seen a surge in sales as customers have stocked up on food, cleaning products and paper goods. The retailer said it would hire 150,000 new workers to keep up with that increased demand.

As coronavirus cases increase in the U.S., Walmart has announced new measures to keep customers and employees safe. It’s shortened store hours to allow more time for restocking and cleaning. It recently announced that it will limit the number of customers in stores and take temperatures of all employees when they report to work. It also gave bonuses to full- and part-time employees.

—CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report.