West Virginia miners slam Republican governor with lawsuit over bounced paychecks

Between hundreds and thousands of miners say the state's billionaire coal baron Jim Justice hasn't been consistent with payment.

E.A. CRUNDEN JUN 4, 2018, 11:37 AM


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.

https://thinkprogress.org/west-virginia-miners-lawsuit-bounced-paychecks-justice-4419b7ee8ac9/


So I wonder what the US Supreme Court has to say about this "class action" lawsuit....................because after all they said that citizens do not have a right to sue...................

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-says-employers-bar-140638312.html.

in clear violation of the Constitution, that says citizens have a right to be heard in a court........................Amendment VII

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/seventh_amendment


November 2018 cannot get here fast enough