CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County man says he was a victim of age discrimination by his former employer.
David Miller filed his complaint February 21 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Service Wire Company, which is based in Culloden in Cabell County.
According to the complaint, Miller began working for Service Wire in April 2022 as a sales representative. After positive evaluations, he received a performance improvement plan that he says was a pretext for age discrimination.
Miller says he was discriminated against and harassed in the summer of 2024 by a New Jersey business called Lex Associates, which did business with the defendant.
He says he reported the age-based discrimination and harassment to Service Wire management, including supervisor Corey Jarvis. He says management did not take action to remedy the situation.
“The defendant retaliated against the plaintiff for reporting the age-based harassment,” the complaint states. “The discriminatory conduct by defendant against plaintiff became so severe, defendant wrongfully discharged plaintiff from his employment.”
Miller was fired November 20, 2024. He was born in 1966, so he was 57 or 58 at the time of his termination. The complaint says he was making about $80,000 per year plus benefits.
“During the course of his employment, the defendants sought to find a way termination plaintiff’s employment despite the motivation to fire the plaintiff in whole or in part due to his age,” the complaint states.
Miller says younger employees “committed conduct substantially similar” to Miller and were not terminated by Service Wire. He also says his work duties were given in whole or in part to substantially younger employees.
Upon his termination, Miller says Service Wire offered him a $5,000 confidential settlement agreement and general release of claims, which included a release of claims for age discrimination. That agreement included a provision that said any court sitting in Charleston was a proper forum for litigation.
Miller says he has suffered lost wages and benefits, out-of-pocket losses, emotional and mental distress, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, anxiety, embarrassment, depression, aggravation, annoyance and inconvenience.
He accuses Service Wire of violating the West Virginia Human Rights Act, substantial public policy and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
Miller seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, out-of-pocket damages, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
He is being represented by John Einreinhofer of the Law Offices of John Einreinhofer in South Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Richard D. Lindsay.
Service Wire was founded in 1968 in Huntington, and its corporate headquarters now are in Culloden. That’s also where one of its three nationwide manufacturing and distribution centers are located. The company makes wire and cable products.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 25-C-233