HUNTINGTON – A Cabell County man formerly employed by the city of Huntington alleges he was discriminated against and unlawfully terminated.
Mark Mills filed a complaint July 17 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia at Huntington against the city of Huntington alleging violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, the West Virginia Human Rights Act and the West Virginia Whistle-blower Law.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was hired by the defendant in 2012 as a driver. The suit states he suffers from anxiety and depression and receives treatment from health care providers.
He alleges that beginning the year he was hired, several employees harassed him on the job and he requested that the defendant not assigned him to work with those employees. The suit states that request was honored until 2015, when he was required to work with those individuals again.
The suit states that in 2016, the plaintiff took a one-month leave of absence for his medical conditions after a co-worker made unfounded accusations against him. He alleges that when he returned, that co-worker punched him in the face and he had to file a police report and seek medical treatment. The suit states he was terminated a day later on Dec. 8, 2016, by the defendant who claimed he had provoked the employee that assaulted him.
The plaintiff holds city of Huntington responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to comply with the requirements of FMLA and discriminated against him based on his status as a person with a disability.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks back wages, liquidated damages, compensatory damages, reinstatement, all legal fees, actual damages, general damages, punitive damages, interest and any other relief as the court deems just. He is represented by Hoyt Glazer of the Law Office of Hoyt Glazer PLLC in Huntington.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 3:17-cv-03622