CLARKSBURG —A man is suing his former employer alleging he was wrongfully fired after a forklift incident.
Armstrong Hardwood Flooring Company, Blair Louk and Steve Swecker were all named as defendants.
David Cox was fired Jan. 3, 2019, according to a complaint filed in Randolph Circuit Court in February and removed to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia on March 20.
Cox claims he was at the offsite warehouse with another employee, who was loading products onto Cox's trailer. The other employee drove a forklift forward and struck a wall, damaging the building.
Cox immediately stopped the other employees and called Louk, his supervisor, the suit says. Louk came to the warehouse with Jeff Cooper, the lead shipping clerk, and took several pictures and questioned the other employee who immediately blamed Cox, according to the suit.
Cox claims he never instructed the other employee or anyone else to drive forward on the forklift with the load on it that obstructed the other employee's view and posed a risk.
Louk then started an investigation and required both Cox and the other employee to provide statements, along with all the other forklift drivers, according to the suit.
Cox claims the other employee was suspended for three days and then was brought back and immediately sent to another position on another shift. During a meeting, Cox was told he had been found responsible for the incident and had violated safety regulations.
Cox then filed a written complaint about safety concerns and unfair treatment, according to the suit.
Cox contends that he allegedly failed to report an incident that he claims didn't even happen involving a truck being backed into a stop sign. The defendants used that alleged incident, which was reported by two other employees, to fire him, Cox says in the lawsuit..
Cox claims the defendants violated public policy and the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
Cox is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is represented by D. Adrian Hoosier II of Hoosier Law Firm in Charleston.
The defendants argue the complaint belongs in federal court because some of Cox's claims arise under federal laws.
The defendants are represented by Mark G. Jeffries and C. David Morrison of Steptoe & Johnson in Bridgeport.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number: 2:20-cv-00009