Woman sues FedEx for wrongful termination

HUNTINGTON -- A Cabell County woman is suing FedEx Corporation after she claims her employment was wrongfully terminated.

Robert Cowart, a manager at FedEx, was also named as a defendant in the suit.

Lavon Pauley began working for FedEx as a package handler in August 1998, according to a complaint filed July 6 in Cabell Circuit Court.

Pauley claims she is openly gay and that all of the FedEx employees she worked with knew she was gay.

For approximately the last three years of her employment, Cowart supervised Pauley, according to the suit, and in the first two years of his supervision, he had little contact with her, but that in the last year of her employment he had more frequent contact with her.

Pauley claims during the last year of her employment Cowart intentionally harassed her by repeatedly belittling her about her performance in front of other male employees; completely ignoring her on a route when they rode together; repeatedly yelling at her on the job site and calling her lazy; refusing to discipline and/or address issues between Pauley and male employees with male employees; placing Pauley in dangerous situations when she requested he not place her in jeopardy; and placing her in fear of physical harm.

On March 4, Pauley reported her concerns about Cowart to Robert Center, the managing director for the district, according to the suit.

On March 16, Pauley claims her employment was terminated by Cowart while her complaint against him was still pending. She claims the defendants did not pay her full wages within 72 hours, which is in violation of the West Virginia Wage Payment & Collection Act.

Pauley claims her employment was terminated because she had complained about Cowart.

Pauley is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by Hoyt Glazer.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge David M. Pancake.

Cabell Circuit Court case number: 10-C-484