Employment Law in West Virginia

Charleston attorneys upholding workers’ rights

For hardworking people, work is just as much about identity as it is about supporting one’s family, and losing a job or facing workplace discrimination can be a traumatic experience. While most jobs are ‘at-will’ positions in which employees can be demoted or dismissed without a good reason, an employer’s actions may violate a worker’s legal rights. At Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC, our Employment Law attorneys can help you determine what your legal rights are and aggressively pursue a claim against an employer for violating state and federal employment laws.

Types of employment law actions

There are many types of claims that may be filed against an employer for unlawful practices, including:

Retaliation Claims

• For reporting violations of important laws such as safety standards.
  
• For reporting sexual harassment or other conduct that violates a coworker’s rights.

• For simply telling the truth when asked about another employee whose rights were violated.
  

Discrimination based on sex, race, color, age, blindness, disability, religion, national origin, ancestry, or similar factors

• Adverse actions against an employee such as being terminated, demoted, or passed over for hiring or promotion based on sex, race, color, age, blindness, disability, religion, national origin, ancestry, or similar factors.
  
• Discrimination against an employee based on a medical condition — even a temporary one — without providing a reasonable accommodation that is available.
  
• Discrimination is discrimination and is usually proven by various means since employers rarely admit to the true reasons behind discriminatory conduct.
  

Sexual Harassment

• Unwanted comments or conduct which create a hostile work environment severe enough to alter the conditions of employment.
• Being demoted, fired, or passed over for a new job or promotion for rebuffing sexual advances.
  

Constructive Discharge

If an employer’s violations of your rights result in conditions at work so intolerable that a reasonable person would be compelled to quit, leaving on your own can be considered a wrongful termination.

Class Actions

• If an employer’s violations affected many workers in a similar way, there may be grounds for a class action to seek compensation and other relief for you and other workers in the same lawsuit.
• Class actions often involve a company’s wage and hour violations and overtime pay.

False Claims Act or Qui Tam whistleblower claims

• If you can prove financial discrepancies in a project which received federal funds, financial recovery may be available to you.

Protecting your rights against wrongful termination in West Virginia

If your employer has terminated you for an unlawful reason or otherwise violated your legal rights in a way that materially affects your ability to earn a living, our Charleston, West Virginia, based law firm can fight for you to receive compensation and other relief. Depending on your individual circumstances, our lawyers may:

• file a lawsuit on your behalf to recover compensation, punitive damages, and other relief;
• seek court orders demanding that the employer stop violating workers’ rights; and/or
• file a class action lawsuit on behalf of yourself and other employees affected by the same practices – especially in cases where the employer has failed to pay for hours worked.

Contact us for a free consultation about solutions for your claim

If your employer’s conduct violated your legal rights and resulted in your termination from employment, forcing you to quit, or limiting your ability to earn a living, call the skilled Employment Law attorneys at Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC to learn more about your legal rights at 304-400-6558 or contact us online to schedule an appointment.