Opinion ID: 1358675
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Questions Certified by the District Court

Text: The questions certified to this Court by the District Court are as follows: 1. Does a supervisor's repeated behavior toward a particular employee over a four-year period, which is motivated by that supervisor's personal animosity against that employee and which the employee considers creates an intolerable work environment, constitute outrageous conduct if the supervisor's actions consist of (a) criticizing that employee in harsh, abusive, and sometimes profane, language, often while in the presence of other employees; (b) interfering with that employee's supervision of others by countermanding his instructions; (c) threatening to get that employee fired? 2. Would that employee have a cause of action against his employer for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress based upon the employer's failure to put a stop to the supervisor's conduct, despite repeated requests by the employee? 3. If the employer may be held so liable, when does the employee's cause of action accrue? 4. Does the supervisor's conduct violate a substantial public policy of the State of West Virginia, particularly as expressed in the Human Rights Act, W.Va.Code § 5-11-2, so as to give rise to a cause of action by the employee against his employer for constructive discharge or retaliatory discharge, even though the employee is not a member of any of the protected groups enumerated in § 5-11-2?