100s of WVa. Miners Suing GOP Gov. Justice for Bounced Paychecks, WV Richest Man, Sole Billionaire
"West Virginia Miners Slam Republican Governor with Lawsuit over Bounced Paychecks," Think Progress, June 4, '18
Between hundreds and thousands of miners say the state's billionaire coal baron Jim Justice hasn't been consistent with payment.
West Virginia coal miners are suing Republican Gov. Jim Justice along with other members of his family over allegations that a mining company owned by the Justices paid them in checks that could not be processed. The suit argues that the company, Bluestone Industries, Inc, violated the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of coal miner Kenneth Cozart on March 6 and amended on April 11 contends that Cozart received a paycheck on February 23 but was unable to deposit the payment.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District in the city of Beckley, the suit contends that Bluestone later wired Cozart his paycheck, resulting in a wire transfer fee. “The paycheck bounced, causing bad check fees to be charged against the plaintiff’s account,” reads the suit, according to WV Metro News. “Sometime thereafter, Bluestone wired the plaintiff wages owed him due to the bad check deposited on February 23, 2018. Plaintiff and other employees were charged a wire transfer fee for this payment.”
Between hundreds and thousands of West Virginia miners have joined the lawsuit alleging similar efforts to deposit paychecks which then bounced, part of a trend for Bluestone. “On several prior occasions, the plaintiff was given paychecks for wages earned and deposited said checks in his account and those checks bounced, costing the plaintiff returned check fees. Bluestone would again wire the plaintiff his pay in the same manner as set forth above, again incurring wire transfer fees,” the suit argues.
The lawsuit names Bluestone more broadly along with Gov. Justice and his children, Jay and Jill Justice. James Miller, the secretary and treasurer for Bluestone, is also named. Bluestone attorney John Hussell fired back last week, arguing that the company has taken steps to counter the problem. “When we became aware of the issue, we immediately took action to ensure that all of the employees received their full pay,” Hussell said. “There was no interruption of their benefits and all of the employees were paid promptly after we became aware of this issue. We are happy to have these miners working with us and are committed to ensuring that they are paid for their hard work.”
Gov. Justice, the only billionaire in West Virginia and the state’s wealthiest man, became president of Bluestone in 1993, 23 years before he first ran for governor as a Democrat. He later switched party affiliations, proclaiming himself as a Republican during an August 2017 rally featuring President Trump. Justice has fought against anti-poverty programs as governor, in addition to dueling with teachers over stagnant wages earlier this year...Justice’s mines extend beyond West Virginia and span across Appalachia.
According to Climate Home News, the governor has used a “temporary cessation” loophole to keep many of his idle coal mines from being reclaimed, something that has ongoing implications for pollution and community health. Violations of federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulations have long dogged Justice’s mines and the official has historically failed to pay fines and taxes associated with his mines. The governor contributed $2.9 million of his own money to his gubernatorial campaign in 2016 while failing to pay some $2.6 million in delinquent federal mine safety penalties, according to a 2016 NPR investigation...Cont...
https://thinkprogress.org/west-virginia-miners-lawsuit-bounced-paychecks-justice-4419b7ee8ac9/
NPR, 'Billionaire Gubernatorial Candidate Owes $15 Million in Taxes and Fines,' 10/7/16
https://www.npr.org/2016/10/07/496696292/billionaire-gubernatorial-candidate-owes-15-million-in-taxes-and-fines
US President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with West Virginia Governor Jim Justice.
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Grit Post, June 4, '18, *West Virginia Miners File Class-Action Suit Against Governor’s Family for Bounced Paychecks*
The family of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R), a coal scion with a net worth of $1.8 billion, bounced paychecks for miners at his company, according to a new lawsuit...“Plaintiffs and their co-workers have suffered and continue to suffer harm as a result of Bluestone’s failure to pay its employees wages earned and owing,” the lawsuit argues, adding that the defendants’ actions were “intentional, willful, wanton, and malicious.”
Bluestone lawyer John Hussell disputed that allegation, saying that the company was not aware that paychecks sent to miners were bouncing. “When we became aware of the issue, we immediately took action to ensure that all of the employees received their full pay,” Hussell told WV Metro News. Legacy Land Management, another company owned by Gov. Justice’s family, is in a joint venture with Bluestone. A separate lawsuit was filed against Legacy for bad checks in January of this year, and was amended in April.
>According to WV Metro News, Legacy’s bad checks came right around Christmas last year, when financial struggles are particularly pronounced for many working-class families. The lawsuit alleges that on three consecutive occasions in December of 2017, miners were given bad checks, and were then forced to pay banking fees when the checks didn’t clear, in addition to having to pay a wire transfer fee when their pay was wired to them.
“If you or someone you know is dealing with Legacy Land Management or any other Jim Justice owned mine affiliate know this: when an employer issues bad payroll checks the law is on the employees’ side 100%,” wrote lawyer Anthony Salvatore — one of the attorneys who filed the class-action suit on behalf of miners — on his website.
>Class-action lawsuits filed against companies like Bluestone and Legacy will soon be nonexistent, thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision allowing employers to force employees into one-on-one arbitration sessions, as opposed to class-action litigation...
Scott Alden is a freelance contributor covering national politics, education, and environmental issues. He is a proud Toledo University graduate, and lives in the suburbs of Detroit. https://gritpost.com/wv-miners-lawsuit-justice/
