Woman sues Marshall over firing

CHARLESTON – A woman says she was fired as a laborer for Marshall University for complaining about and refusing to work in unsafe work conditions.

Cecilia R. Scarberry filed a lawsuit July 16 in Kanawha Circuit Court the university.

Scarberry claims she was fired in August 2007 for objecting to work in conditions she believed exposed her and others to injury or death.

She believes her termination were in retaliation for her attempts to report the conditions to management officials at Marshall.

In addition to her firing, Scarberry is suing for defamation, claiming the university falsely said she was fired for assaulting a managerial employee.

She's seeking compensatory and punitive damages through the court that are not available through the state grievance procedure.

Walt Auvil is representing the plaintiff. The case is assigned to Kanawha Circuit Judge James Stucky.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 09-C-1286