Man accuses Baker Hughes of age discrimination

CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County man is suing over claims he was fired due to his age.

Cledith L. Falls filed a lawsuit Dec. 3, 2014, in Kanawha Circuit Court against: Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations Inc.; Shawn Shipman, operations manager II; Ray L. Watson, region operations manager; Jamie Lyn Coffman, senior human resource representative; and Kendall Lasseigne, human resource business partner.

According to the complaint, Falls worked for the defendant as area operations manager in the chemical area of the business but in 2012 Watson began to complain of Falls' performance, such as his computer skills and creativity.

For example, when Falls asked for advice in disposing of unused product in July 2012, Watson forwarded the email to human resources as an example of a lack of creative problem-solving initiative, despite the fact that Falls was simply performing his job duties, the suit states.

Falls says Shipman awarded him a bonus in 2012 but he never received the bonus for work performed in 2012, and in February 2013, Shipman fired him. The defendants are accused of age discrimination.

Falls is represented by attorneys Travis Allen Griffith and Michael A. Olivio of Olivio & Griffith in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey Walker.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 14-C-2127