Arc of the Three Rivers sued by 23 former employees over direct deposit

CHARLESTON - Twenty-three former employees are suing Arc of the Three Rivers Inc. after they claim it violated West Virginia code and caused them to suffer a loss of income.

Jane Anderson, Cheryl Atkins, Gina Bukovisnky, Thomas Burchfield, Mickie Burrows, Nancy Collins, Mary Cook, Brittany Cullen, Dawn Cullen, Richard Tench, Nanette Sloan, Dorothy Sheely, Eric Sayre, Roger Runion, Susan Reed, Christopher Pack, Micah Mullenax, Nasim Molavi, Alexander Mallo II, Brooke Lacy, Jerry Early, Zane Jude and Cheryl Hilliard were employed by the defendant and were paid every two weeks, according to 23 complaints filed April 4 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

The 23 plaintiffs claim they were notified by letter dated Jan. 29, 2010, that for employees opting to have direct deposit, the payday was moved from April 9, 2010, to April 16, 2010 for the pay period of March 22, 2010, to April 4, 2010.

Since there was a week delay in paying the employees who opted to have direct deposit, if employees left their employment with Arc, they would be paid for an additional week of time if they had worked the hours, according to the suits. However, when the plaintiffs left their employment, they were not paid for the additional week of time, they say.

The plaintiffs claim the defendant violated West Virginia code and caused them to suffer a loss of income.

The defendant not only caused the April 16, 2010, payday to fall behind the every two weeks requirement to pay the plaintiffs, but it also facilitated a full 12 days to pass between the end of the pay period and when payday occurred, according to the suits.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are being represented by Samuel F. Hanna of Hanna Law Office.

The cases have been assigned to circuit judges Louis H. Bloom, Paul Zakaib Jr., Jennifer Bailey, Carrie Webster, Charles E. King and James C. Stucky.

Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers: 13-C-629, 13-C-631, 13-C-632, 13-C-633, 13-C-634, 13-C-635, 13-C-636, 13-C-637, 13-C-638, 13-C-640, 13-C-642, 13-C-643, 13-C-644, 13-C-645, 13-C-647, 13-C-648, 13-C-649, 13-C-650, 13-C-651, 13-C-652, 13-C-653, 13-C-654, 13-C-655