WHEELING – A former employee of The Ziegenfelder Company is suing the business over claims that he was wrongfully terminated.
Alberto O. West filed a lawsuit on Jan. 14 in the Ohio Circuit Court claiming the company violated the West Virginia Human Rights Act (WVHRA).
West, who worked for the confection company for more than 27 years, alleges that on June 19, 2015, he was selected for a random drug screening test, which he took. At the time, he allegedly was taking Nyquil and Dayquil, both common over-the-counter drugs. When his first test results came back positive for opiates, West objected and requested a second test.
On July 1, 2015, he took the second test, which allegedly found that he was free of any illicit substances. West claims that he explained to the defendants about his usage of Nyquil and Dayquil, which allegedly produces false positives and therefore produced incorrect results on the first drug test; however, he was terminated on July 7, 2015.
West claims that his termination for failing the drug test was pre-textual and the actual reason was his age, which he alleges violated the WVHRA. He claims that there were other employees who failed their drug tests and still remained with the company. West was 52 years of age at the time of his dismissal. The suit said that his duties and responsibilities were transferred to substantially younger employees once he left the company.
West is suing for compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, economic damages, attorney fees and costs, and any other relief deemed proper by the court. He is seeking a jury trial and is represented by Stephen B. Farmer and Matthew H. Nelson from Farmer, Cline & Campbell PPLC in Morgantown. The case has been assigned to Judge Jason Cuomo.
Ohio Circuit Court Case number 16-C-12