CLARKSBURG – Two West Virginia residents formerly employed by an energy services company with an office in Bridgeport allege they were not rehired because of their legal claims against the company over wages.
Anna Coberly and Angela Burkhart filed a complaint Feb. 14 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia against ECM Energy Services Inc. alleging violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs were previously employed by the defendant as a traffic employee. The suit states that the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division investigated the defendant for its pay practices for traffic employees and concluded the defendant failed to pay them all minimum and/or overtime wages. The suit states the plaintiffs' counsels contacted the defendant's counsel regarding their claims for unpaid wages after this investigation.
The suit states the plaintiffs attempted to apply for a traffic employee position again with the defendant in September 2016, but the defendant did not hire them.
The plaintiffs holds ECM Energy Services Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly discriminated and retaliated against then by refusing to hire or rehire them due to their intention to pursue their legal claim for unpaid minimum wage and/or overtime compensation.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek payment for lost wages, liquidated and punitive damages, attorney's fees, costs and any further relief as the court deems just and equitable. They are represented by Mark Goldner and Maria W. Hughes of Hughes & Goldner PLLC in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number 1:18-cv-00042