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West Virginia Governor Jim Justice recently issued a “safer-at-home” order to replace the stay-at-home order. During the stay-at-home order, residents were urged to shelter in place and only travel for essential purposes, like going to work, getting groceries, and getting medical attention. What we once considered “normal” may not return for several weeks or months,...

No employee should have to feel out of place at work or fear a coworker or supervisor. Unfortunately, workplace harassment happens more often than we'd like to think. Some research concludes that about half of American workers have either experienced workplace harassment or witnessed it. Explicit vs. subtle harassment Workplace harassment can either be explicit...

As an employee, you have the right to feel welcomed and encouraged in the workplace – not thought of as inferior or treated with hostility. Sadly, a lot of workers are mistreated and are subject to unfair judgment and inequality in the workplace. Workplace discrimination is a serious charge. According to data from the Equal...

Some employers refuse to hire older workers, despite their years of experience and knowledge. Seasoned workers are demoted or forced out of jobs they had been in for many years, only to be replaced by younger, less experienced — and cheaper — employees. According to an AARP survey, more than 60 percent of older Americans...

The federal government ordered a UPS facility in New Hampshire to pay nearly $50,000 for retaliating against a driver who insisted on following the rules. In March 2019, managers at a UPS Ground Freight facility in Londonderry, New Hampshire suspended, harassed and fired a truck driver after he refused to operate a truck without an...

It's been two years since the #MeToo movement swept across the United States, forever changing how workplace sexual harassment is handled. In a radio interview on West Virginia Public Broadcasting, host David Greene interviews victims and other people involved in the #MeToo movement. The interview sheds light on the impact the #MeToo movement has had...

Disgruntled or not, an employee has a right under federal whistleblower laws to report workplace health and safety issues without retaliation. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has outlined steps to help employers deal with these issues, according to The National Law Review. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers...

Google employees said that after reporting sexual harassment and other problems, the industry giant retaliated with negative job reviews and demotions. The culture of retaliation at Google resulted in employees suffering mental health and medical issues,  in addition to career punishment, like being dropped from desirable projects, they said. The allegations of workplace retaliation for...

Attorney Erika Klie Kolenich of Klie Law Offices recently announced that she will be running for governor of West Virginia as a Libertarian in the 2020 election, My Buckhannon reports. Kolenich is a Buckhannon native who graduated from Buckhannon-Upshur High School in 1997. She graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2001 where she majored in political science and dramatic...

The most common forms of harassment in the workplace are verbal or psychological, but more serious forms of harassment, such as physical and sexual, are becoming a growing concern, according to an article in Business News Daily. All types of harassment are illegal, yet proving it may not always be easy, as some forms of...