Woman says Waste Management schemed, fired her

MARTINSBURG - A Berkeley County woman says Waste Management lied to the public about a landfill, then fired her for not agreeing with its practices.

Antoinette Yates filed her lawsuit Oct. 17 in Berkeley Circuit Court against Waste Management of West Virginia. Formerly, she was a dispatcher with the company until she was fired Oct. 19, 2004, the complaint says.

"During her employment, Mrs. Yates became aware of a scheme devised and/or implemented by the defendant, either alone or in conspiracy with others, to manipulate public opinion regarding the purported necessity of changing classification of the LCS landfill so as to increase the daily and monthly tonnage caps at the LCS landfill," the complaint says.

Yates says Waste Management was successful, and she became aware of another scheme to falsify drivers' records so they would not accrue overtime pay but could still drive more hours in a 24-hour period of time than they were allowed to drive.

"Defendant, by and through its management, was angry at Mrs. Yates for her expressed opposition to the various schemes of the defendant and described her as a 'cancer' in the company," the complaint says.

She was then fired, the complaint says, and Waste Management failed to pay her all wages due within 72 hours, in violation of the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act.

Yates seeks compensatory and punitive damages and is represented by David Hammer of Hammer, Ferretti and Schiavoni in Martinsburg.

Judge David Sanders has been assigned the case.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number 06-C-756