WHEELING — An attorney filed a lawsuit against his former employer, alleging breach of contract and violations of the West Virginia Wage and Payment Collection Act.
Bradley K. Shafer was hired by Swartz Campbell in 2011 as an attorney in its Wheeling office, according to a complaint filed in Ohio Circuit Court.
Shafer claims he was paid monthly for his salary and also received periodic bonus payments, typically in January, August and November each year.
The defendant notified Shafer in 2015 that he would be required to make a capital contribution to the firm and represented that the capital contribution was required because he had been hired as a "participating member" of the law firm, according to the suit.
Shafer claims his bonus for January 2016 was reported as $42,000, but the defendants withheld $20,000 from the compensation due and payable on the basis that those funds represented a capital contribution accompanying his status as a member of the law firm.
Despite having withheld the $20,000, Shafer was still never admitted as a member of the law firm, according to the suit.
Shafer claims his employment for the defendant ended on Feb. 5, 2018, but he continued to perform services until Feb. 19, 2018, and he final monthly salary was due on Feb. 28, 2018, but the defendant failed and/or refused to issue his final salary payment until July 2, 2018.
The amount he received in July 2018 was also $2,539.69 less than what he should have been paid, according to the suit.
Shafer claims the defendant breached its contract with him and violated the West Virginia Wage and Payment Collection Act. He claims the defendant's conduct also constituted fraud.
Shafer is seeking compensatory damages. He is represented by Avrum Levicoff and Sunshine R. Fellows of The Levicoff Law Firm in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Ohio Circuit Court Case number: 19-C-254