CHARLESTON – A Lincoln County man claims his employer wrongfully fired him for taking medical leave due to an infection from his emergency appendectomy.
Kasey Roberts filed a complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Gestamp West Virginia LLC alleging violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, West Virginia Human Rights Act and Family Medical Leave Act and retaliation.
The suit states Roberts, who worked in Gestamp's production division, underwent an emergency appendectomy on June 27, 2019. He alleges that after returning to work from leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act in August 2019 and then suffering a second infection due to his surgery and taking another leave, he was fired for job abandonment despite having a physician's release from work.
Roberts seeks compensatory and punitive damages, interest, a trial by jury and all other just relief. He is represented by Richard Walters and Carl Shaffer of Shaffer & Shaffer PLLC in Charleston.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tod J. Kaufman.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 19-C-1046