Opinion ID: 1200119
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Review by the Circuit Court

Text: Upon appeal by the employer the Circuit Court of Kanawha County reversed and remanded. It held, inter alia, that the Commission's finding of discrimination on account of a handicap was erroneous as a matter of law because the statute, W. Va. Code, 5-11-3(t) [1981], requires an actual, not merely a perceived, physical or mental impairment. [3] The circuit court, concerned with procedural fairness to the employer, remanded the case for investigation and attempts at conciliation with respect to the statutorily defined handicap issue, for neither of those prehearing procedures had occurred on that issue; instead, the  perceived handicap issue, due to the timing of the addition of that issue, was administratively handled initially at the evidentiary hearing. The Commission and the complainant then prosecuted this appeal.