Wolfe v. Adkins (Signed Opinion)
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs, several jail employees, lost their jobs after their positions were eliminated upon the closing of the Cabell County Jail. Plaintiffs subsequently filed a complaint against the County under the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act (the Act), seeking payment of their accumulated sick leave and alleging that they were entitled to liquidated damages, prejudgment interest, attorney fees, and costs. The circuit court entered judgment in favor of Plaintiffs. At issue on appeal was whether the County should have been granted judgment as a matter of law based on the following written provision of its sick leave policy: "When the services of an employee have been terminated, all sick leave credited shall be cancelled as of the last working day with the department." The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court, holding that Plaintiffs' accumulated sick leave as of the date they were terminated with the County did not constitute unpaid wages to which they were entitled within the meaning of the Act. Remanded to enter judgment as a matter of law in favor of the County.
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