CHARLESTON — A woman is suing the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways (DOT) claiming she was discriminated against and lost her job.
Jimmy Wriston was also named as a defendant in the suit.
Melissa Prince worked for the defendants for several years and for nearly five years she was allowed to work from home because she has lupus, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Prince claims on two occasions she even supplied her employer with a report from her treating physician that her lupus establishes a legitimate basis for remote work as a reasonable accommodation.
Instead, the defendants eventually demanded that Prince report to work at the office, which resulted in her termination, according to the suit.
Prince claims she could not perform the essential duties of her job outside of her home without risking serious harm to her mental and physical well-being.
For two years, Prince worked for the defendants in the office and in 2017, she began to work remotely, at first two days a week and then full-time, according to the suit.
Prince claims she continued to work from home throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, it was suggested that she complete formal paperwork to continue working from home, which she had never done before, but she was allowed to continue working from home.
On Jan. 26, the defendant told her she needed to come back to the office. Twice in March, the defendant modified the work location but still refused to allow her to work from home, according to the suit.
Prince claims when she explained that she could not work outside her home and reminded the defendants she had always excelled at her job while working from home, they refused and demanded that she return her work computer and equipment.
Prince claims the defendants discriminated against her based on her disability and failed to accommodate her.
Prince is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is represented by Hoyt Glazer, Abraham Saad and Eric B. Anderson of Glazer Saad Anderson in Huntington.
The case was originally assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango and was later transferred to Circuit Judge Louis Bloom.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 22-C-562