CHARLESTON — Two cases against New Beginnings had final orders entered, while a third is currently in the process of having depositions taken.
The three cases were filed in Kanawha Circuit Court in February by Tabitha A. Adkins, Jessica L. Halstead and Gena L. Elliot.
Adkins, Halstead and Elliot were hired as a nurse, a part-time employee and an office manager, respectively, according to the suits.
Final orders were entered in Halstead and Elliot's cases in April.
In Adkins' case, the deposition of William Mucklow, the president of New Beginnings Drug Center, was scheduled for June 20 and then again on July 2.
The three women claimed that after they were hired at New Beginnings, they didn't receive the proper wages they were promised and worked toward.
Adkins claims she was only paid three times between August and September 2017 and the defendant owed her $3,984.50.
In April, Adkins filed a motion for default judgment in the case, citing that neither of the defendants, after having accepted summonses in the case, have responded or filed any type of responsive pleading. Adkins sought gross pay she claimed she was entitled to in the amount of $3,984.50 and liquidated damages in the same amount for a total of $7,969, according to the motion for default judgment.
Halstead claimed she only received three payments between May and September 2017 and did not receive any payment whatsoever in June, July, October, November or December 2017. She claims the defendants owed her $20,769.24. Halstead was promised a full-time job with a $90,000 salary when her part-time job ended, but her employment ended on Dec. 31, 2017. She claimed the defendants' actual payments would then result in a total deficiency of $51,823.12.
Elliot claimed she was only paid on three occasions and that the defendant owed her approximately $1,500.
The defendants are accused of violating the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act and of breaching its contract with each of the plaintiffs, according to the suits.
Each of the plaintiffs were seeking compensatory, liquidated and punitive damages. They are represented by Travis Griffith of Griffith Law Center.
The cases were assigned to Judges Carrie Webster and Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers 19-C-123, 19-C-124, and 19-C-125
