CHARLESTON – A man is suing a local Subway owner after he claims he was discriminated against because of his race.
In April or May 2011, Marqullous D. Martin went to KJ Group's Subway in Cross Lanes and submitted a written application for employment, according to a complaint filed Aug. 1 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Martin claims after not hearing from the defendant, he contacted Wade Shaffer to see if he knew what was occurring with the hiring process.
Shaffer informed Martin that he would not be employed by KJ Group because it had made it known to its managers that it would no longer be employing African Americans, according to the suit.
Martin claims the defendant's failure to hire him because of his race is a violation of the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
KJ Group discriminated against Martin because of his race and violated state public policy, according to the suit.
Martin is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is being represented by J. Michael Ranson, Cynthia M. Ranson, George B. Morrone III and G. Patrick Jacobs.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tod J. Kaufman.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 12-C-1546
