Coal company loses whistleblower case
I know this story is a month old but I just learned of it this morning via a broadcast on West Virginia Public Radio. Have to tell you I was gobsmacked when I heard of it -- the coal company actually sued a miner for filing a discrimination claim. This case had far-reaching implications, for if the company had won this suit it would have effectively intimidated any other miners from ever filing suit against Big Coal. (And more immediate implications for three other miners who had suits pending.) Perhaps I just missed it but I didn't hear/see any coverage of this by the major news media. Of course, this happened in Appalachia so most of the media doesn't give a crap. Thank god for Public Radio!
http://www.mining.com/armstrong-coal-loses-case-over-false-discrimination-claim-96224/
Armstrong Coal loses whistleblower case
Ana Komnenic | June 21, 2013
Armstrong Coal has lost its law suit against former coal mine employer Reuben Shemwell, after a judge shut down the case and called it a "violation of whistleblower protections."
The coal company tried to sue the the Kentucky welder for filing a discrimination claim with the Secretary of Labor after he was fired in 2011....
... In an interview with Tony Oppegard, a lawyer for Shemwell, the Huffington Post reported:
"The anti-discrimination provision of the Mine Act is a miner's ultimate way to protect his safety on the job," said Oppegard, who served as Shemwell's counsel alongside Wes Addington, of the Appalachian Citizens' Law Center, and Matt Shepherd, who represented the Labor Department. "If companies could sue miners in state court when MSHA declines to prosecute their case, that anti-discrimination provision would be totally eviscerated. It would be a very rare miner who would file a complaint if he thought he could be sued for having filed it.
"If it can happen to Reuben," he added, "it can happen to any miner in the country."
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