Court Opinion

ID: 9853539
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:50:00.855411+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:50.834981
License: Public Domain

McGRAW, Justice,
dissenting:
I dissent emphatically, albeit belatedly, to Parts III, IV and V of the majority opinion. An employer cannot defend wrongful or discriminatory employment practices, proscribed by statute, on the basis of provisions contained in a collective bargaining agreement. A union contract cannot abrogate statutory or public policy rights providing protection against discharge due to work-related disability. See Woodruff v. Board of Trustees, 173 W.Va. 604, 319 S.E.2d 372 (1984); see also Robinson v. Lorillard Corporation, 444 F.2d 791 (4th Cir.1971); Judson Steel Corporation v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeals Board, 22 Cal.3d 658, 150 Cal.Rptr. 250, 586 P.2d 564 (1978).
For this reason, I respectfully dissent.