CHARLESTON – A Black man says he was the victim of racial discrimination while working for a healthcare company.
Dominic Orcutt of Cross Lanes filed his complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Res-Care Inc., Jacob Foster and Laurie Wolfe. Foster worked in HR for the company, and Wolfe was a supervisor. Southern Home Care Services Inc. dba as ResCare Home Care originally was named as a defendant, but it later was dismissed and replaced with RSCR West Virginia Inc.
According to the complaint, Orcutt says he was discriminated against and forced to work in an intimidating, hostile and offensive working environment. He says the defendants tolerated the racial discrimination.
Orcutt says he was called the n-word multiple times by ResCare employee Cheyenne Walker. He says Wolfe took no meaningful action against Walker, and he says Foster did nothing as well when it was reported to him.
Orcutt says the discrimination and harassment left him no choice but to quit June 4, 2020, after less than two years on the job.
He accuses the defendants of racial discrimination, constructive discharge and unlawful retaliation, which are violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
Orcutt says he has suffered loss of back pay, front pay and lost benefits as well as mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation, aggravation, inconvenience and damage to his reputation. He seeks compensatory, general and punitive damages as well as attorney fees.
He is being represented by John Einreinhofer of Charleston and by Jonathan Mani of Mani Ellis & Layne in Charleston.
In their separate answers, defendants RSCR, Res-Care and Foster all deny the allegations and seek to have the case dismissed. All are represented by Suleiman Oko-ogua and Daniel LeMasters of Bailey & Wyant in Charleston. As of earlier this month, Wolfe hadn’t been located and hadn’t been served.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 22-C-291
