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If you were wrongfully terminated from your job, you may not be fully aware of your legal rights. West Virginia and many other states across the U.S. have what is called an "employment at will" law. This means that an employer can terminate your position for any reason or no reason at all, as long...

Can I get fired for being gay, lesbian or transgender? Until June 2020, the answer to that question was “yes” in nearly half of the states. LBGTQ employees had no federal protection against losing their jobs. On June 13, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the side of the LBGTQ community. An NPR report...

An experienced West Virginia workplace discrimination attorney explains Many forms of discrimination are against the law, including workplace discrimination based on someone’s race, gender, religion, disability, age or another protected class. What if someone is overweight? Can a company discriminate against an employee based on how much they weigh? Or is that against the law?...

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...