CHARLESTON – A man who underwent three major surgeries is suing his former employer for allegedly firing him for being disabled.
Gary K. Estep filed a complaint on June 5 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Anderson Windows Inc. and David Sepic, a supervisor at Anderson Windows.
From 2002 until he was fired on July 31, 2013, Estep worked for the defendant. He worked under Sepic starting in 2010.
According to the lawsuit, Estep had to miss work for surgery in September 2012 to repair his hernia and again in November 2012 for a heart catheterization. The next month, he underwent a second hernia operation, the lawsuit states.
Meanwhile, in 2012, the defendants had placed Estep on a "coaching plan" for alleged low sales, then graduated to a performance improvement plan, which he claims was "designed in a manner for plaintiff to fail," the lawsuit states.
In June 2013, Sepic contacted Estep about his heart condition and was told that he was still suffering contractions, weakness and shortness of breath, the lawsuit states, then, right after the call, Estep was terminated.
The plaintiff, citing violations of the state's Human Rights Act, seeks lost wages, back pay, front pay, and damages for "indignity, embarrassment, humiliation, annoyance, inconvenience and emotional distress," as well as punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, attorneys' fees and court costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Larry O. Ford of Meyer, Ford, Glasser and Radman PLLC in Charleston.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 15C143.