CHARLESTON – A man says he was fired near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic because he refused to meet clients without proper protection.
Michael W. Young filed his complaint July 29 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Captioncall LLC and John Parker Paulsen.
According to his complaint, Young was an account manager for Captioncall from November 2017 until he was fired on July 30, 2020.
Hoosier
“Plaintiff complained that Captioncall couldn’t force plaintiff to have direct contact with customers during a pandemic,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff requested an accommodation because he had known medical issues that would cause sickness or death if he ended up with COVID-19.
“Plaintiff reported an accommodation of safety equipment and working in a location that did not interact directly with customers. After plaintiff’s request was denied, he was terminated.”
Young says his unnamed disability places him in a protected class under the West Virginia Human Rights Act and that his temporary disability was medical conditions that presented major complications and/or death if he contracted COVID-19.
Young says he requested protective equipment and to not be forced to have close contact with customers. He said Paulson denied that accommodation and fired him.
He accuses the defendants of violating the state Human Rights Act and retaliatory discrimination.
Young says he has suffered loss of pay, emotional pain and suffering, humiliation, aggravation, annoyance, inconvenience, mental anguish and other damages. He seeks compensatory damages of back wage, fringe benefits, actual damages, court costs, attorney fees and other relief. He also seeks punitive damages for the intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
He also seeks injunctive relief, including reinstatement.
Young is being represented by D. Adrian Hoosier of Hoosier Law Firm in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 22-C-615