CHARLESTON — A black man is suing Matthews International Corporation alleging he was fired because of his race.
Joe Skidmore and Dan Mullins were also named as defendants in the suit.
Jeremy Hill began working for the defendants in 2017 and was terminated in 2019, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Hill claims he worked as a delivery person for the defendants and always performed his job duties in a satisfactory manner. However, once Skidmore became his supervisor, Hill says he started making racial comments about him, including calling him a monkey and bragging about getting "free circus tickets" after making Hill jump up and down on boxes in a Dumpster.
The plaintiff made numerous complaints about Skidmore's actions and the hostile work environment, racial harassment and racial discrimination, but he says nothing was done about Skidmore's actions.
Hill claims he was retaliated against for making complaints and, within three months of the complaints, was fired from his employment. He claims the defendants violated the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
Hill is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is being represented by Phillip Estep and Kurt Entsminger of Estep Entsminger Law Group in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Louis Bloom.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 21-C-152
