HUNTINGTON — A Cabell County woman's lawsuit claims she was fired from a Huntington Walmart after she had cancer surgery.
Janet Wolford filed a lawsuit Feb. 19 in Cabell Circuit Court against Wal-Mart Stores East LP, alleging violations of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, the West Virginia Human Rights Act and other anti-discrimination laws protecting people with disabilities.
According to the complaint, Wolford worked as a full-time cashier for Walmart for 15 years at its Huntington store. After surgery for skin cancer in 2015, the suit says, Wolford received FMLA time off for recovery from Sept. 15 to Oct. 28. When she returned to work, Wolford says, she was written up for allegedly taking her lunch after her scheduled break because she had been assisting a customer. The incident led to her termination on Dec. 27, 2015, the defendant claims, adding that the dismissal was tied to a policy she had not been apprised of. She claims the real reason for her dismissal was for having undergone surgery and for receiving treatment for her cancer.
Wolford seeks a jury trial and damages. She is represented by attorney Hoyt Glazer of the Law Office of Hoyt Glazer PLLC in Huntington.
Judge F. Jane Hustead is assigned to the case.
Cabell Circuit Court Case number 16-C-131
