Woman accuses college of retaliatory termination

WHEELING – A former employee of an Ohio County community college has sued the institution, alleging the school's health science application included questions that were in violation of discrimination laws.

Denise Wycherley filed a lawsuit July 24 in Ohio Circuit Court against West Virginia Northern Community College.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff was fired from her position as student disability coordinator and adjunct professor of sign language after she raised concerns about questions in the health science application that led to a lawsuit from a student.

Wycherley was supposed to meet with the state's ADA coordinator to assist in reviewing the school's conduct and was fired from her position as student disability coordinator before that could occur, the suit states. Her contract as an adjunct instructor was also cancelled.

There were no disciplinary write ups in the plaintiff's file prior to her termination. No reason was given for cancelling her instructor contract and the defendant told the Bureau of Unemployment the plaintiff was terminated because no work was available, according to the filing. The administrative law judge awarded the plaintiff unemployment benefits after finding no misconduct.

Wycherley seeks a judgment in an amount that compensates for past and future lost wages, aggravation, humiliation and attorney's fees and costs.

She is represented by attorney Frank X. Duff and Sandra K. Law of Schrader, Byrd and Companion PLLC in Wheeling. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge James P. Mazzone.

Ohio Circuit Court Case number 14-C-219