HUNTINGTON – A Putnam County man says he was wrongfully terminated from his job at Best Buy after nearly 20 years for taking FMLA time off because of complications related to the birth of his son.
Eric Beuhring filed his complaint May 13 in federal court against Best Buy Stores and Paul Durbin, the district manager.
According to the complaint, Beuhring was hired in 2002 by Best Buy, and he worked in various positions at various stores. He had been the general manager of the Huntington store since 2013.
In March 2021, Beuhring’s wife had pregnancy complications and was hospitalized. She went into emergency labor and gave birth to their son. Because of the complications, the boy spent 63 days in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. Beuhring’s wife spent 9-10 days in the hospital, and he used paid time off to stay with her the entire time.
During that time, Durbin called Beuhring to discuss work issues and asked, “Do you really need to be off for all this?”
Beuhring then filed for a received leave pursuant to Family Medical Leave Act and Best Buy’s maternity/paternity leave policies.
The complaint says Durbin began scrutinizing Beuhring’s work performance on April 2, 2021. Durbin texted to ask if he needed to “insert himself” into the store to handle management issues.
Beuhring said he took three two-week periods over the course of three months in 2021 for paternity leave. Those were May 11-25, June 6-19 and July 18-31.
On May 26, 2021, Beuhring’s first day back from the first two-week leave, he says Durbin again interjected himself into the plaintiff’s management and store issues.
In December 2021, store associate Justin Brown told Beuhring about a missing $2,000 75-inch television. It was scheduled for delivery. Beuhring interviewed the delivery driver, Jimmy Sorrels, who said he didn’t know where the TV was.
The following day, someone stole the car of part-time associate Bradley Johnson in the store parking lot. Police suspected it was an “inside job,” according to the complaint.
Johnson “sent plaintiff a message about issues related to the stolen TV, the stolen vehicle and the conduct of the delivery driver and others,” the complaint states, adding that four days later, “Johnson informed plaintiff that the delivery driver’s previous employer terminated him for theft.”
Beuhring told Durbin, Market Asset Protection Manager Jim Noren and Geek Squad Manager Shawn Clark the information he had received. Noren told him to call Geek Squad Asset Protection Manager Whitney Wheatley, who would lead the investigation. Beuhring also requested further information from Geek Squad manager Kaley St. John, but she never provided it.
On January 4, 2022, Wheatley told Beuhring she saw no need to continue the investigation. He also says Wheatley was in a relationship with Sorrels, who was a suspect in the missing TV matter.
On January 26, Durbin told Beuhring he had “inappropriate” relationships in the store involving nine-year employee David Wolfe Jr. Beuhring was married to a sister of Wolfe’s wife, and a Best Buy manager from the Charleston store presided over the wedding.
“No one brought any type of favoritism accusations against plaintiff at any time nor does any evidence prove such an occurrence,” the complaint states. “Durbin was aware of plaintiff’s marriage and the indirect connection with Mr. Wolfe. …
“Durbin disciplined Mr. Wolfe for the same thing as a cover up to defendant’s real reason for terminating plaintiff.”
Despite addressing “inappropriate” relationships as the reason for his firing, Durbin gave Beuhring a termination letter that said, “an investigation into you conduct has resulted in the reasonable conclusion that you have failed to use good and reasonable judgment as it relates to your compliance with company policy and rules and the execution of work responsibilities.”
Beuhring says he didn’t know what Durbin as talking about and doesn’t know of any work responsibilities he didn’t perform. He also says the termination violated Best Buy policies on progressive discipline.
During the unemployment process, Beuhring says he was given a third reason for his firing.
“Defendant claimed he was terminated for ‘unprofessional conduct’ toward another employee,” the complaint states. “That was the first plaintiff had heard about his alleged conduct toward another employee. There was no mention of his marital connection to Mr. Wolfe.”
Beuhring accuses the defendants of discrimination and retaliation for exercising and engaging in conduct protected under FMLA, and he files a Harless claim based on the public policies of FMLA.
He says the actions of the defendants were intentional, discriminatory, retaliatory, false, wanton, willful, malicious and indifferent. He says he has suffered loss of past and future earnings and employment benefits, anguish, pain and suffering, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, costs associated with finding new employment, embarrassment, damage to his reputation and other pecuniary losses.
Beuhring seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, liquidated damages under FMLA, attorney fees, court costs, pre- and post-judgment interest and other relief.
He is being represented by Abraham Saad, Hoyt Glazer and Eric Anderson of Glazer Saad Anderson in Huntington. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Robert C. Chambers.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 3:22-cv-00224