Bill McCoy was also named as a defendant in the suit.
Dana Adkins worked for Greenbrier from Jan. 1, 2015, pursuant to the defendant’s acquisition of the mining complex at which he was employed and, shortly thereafter, his wife was treated for cancer of the brain, according to a complaint filed Nov. 30 in Logan Circuit Court and removed to federal court on Dec. 23.
Adkins claims it was necessary for his wife to travel to Houston, Texas, for her treatment and for him to travel with her and, as such, he applied for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act to travel with his wife to Texas.
However, Adkins was denied his requested leave and was told that Greenbrier was not subject to FMLA, which, upon information and belief, was untrue, according to the suit.
Adkins claims facing no alternative, he took persona leave to attend to his wife and accompany her to Texas for treatment and, in doing so, he was forced to exhaust available sick leave and vacation time.
Prior to taking leave to care for his wife, Adkins had worked a number of overtime hours for Greenbrier and , without his consent, credited the overtime hours to while he was on leave and paid him his normal rate of pay instead of overtime compensation, according to the suit.
Adkins claims the defendants engaged in a pattern of discriminatory behavior toward him and perpetrated a series of adverse employment actions against him.
As a result of the defendant’s actions, Adkins was left with no choice but to resign from his employment on Feb. 1, according to the suit.
Adkins claims the defendants violated the FMLA, discriminated against him based on his age and failed to pay overtime wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Adkins is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is being represented by Larry Ford and Sean Cook of Meyer Ford & Glasser.
The defendants are represented by Brian J. Moore and Arie M. Spitz of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 2:16-cv-12502
