West Virginia Miners File Class Action Lawsuit Against Governor Over Bounced Checks

Source: Fortune

West Virginia miners filed a federal class action lawsuit against their Republican Governor Jim Justice and his family, alleging that the Justice-owned Bluestone Industries, Inc. paid miners in bounced checks, WVVA reported over the weekend. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and names the governor's children, Jay and Jill Justice who are the directors of Bluestone, as well as the company's secretary and treasurer, James Miller.

According to the lawsuit, Bluestone Industries, Inc. violated the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Hundreds, if not thousands, of West Virginia miners were affected by the bounced paychecks, which allegedly occurred on multiple occasions.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of miner Kenneth Cozart on March 6 and later amended on April 11, alleged that a paycheck the plaintiff received on Feb. 23 could not be deposited, according to WV Metro News. "The paycheck bounced, causing bad check fees to be charged against the plaintiff's account," the lawsuit argues. Plaintiffs were later paid via wire transfer, but were then charged a wire transfer fee for the payment.

"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... More..

Read more: http://fortune.com/2018/06/04/west-virginia-miners-class-action-lawsuit-sue-governor-jim-justice-bounced-checks/