According to state legal journal the West Virginia Record on Tuesday, Michael DeWayne Roberts has named Pocahontas Coal as the defendant in his suit filed November 15.
Roberts commenced employment with Pocahontas in February 2012 at the Affinity mine.
He was involved in a US Mine Safety and Health Administration investigation into a fatal accident that occurred at the operation this past February in which there was reportedly an improperly installed safety switch on the gate of a hoist.
MSHA’s probe unveiled a condition with the mine’s hoist system, where a safety switch had been disengaged and bypassed with a piece of electrical tape, an issue Roberts allegedly told the investigators about during an interview.
He claims in his suit that he was fired in June 2013 for his participation in the probe.
Represented by Stephen Farmer in the case, which is formally filed as No. 13-C-953, Roberts is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages for wrongful termination.
Affinity suffered two miner deaths in less than one month in February and has since been classified by the MSHA as a pattern violator.
It received a pattern of violations notice from the agency in late October.
Earlier this month, state officials with the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training confirmed that safety issues with seals at the mine in Sophia forced an idle of the mine but it was working in tandem with the operator to find a solution.
