CHARLESTON – A former U-Haul employee says he was fired while recovering from an on-the-job knee injury.
Joseph W. Welch filed his complaint against U-Haul Co. of West Virginia and Jeff Bowles in Kanawha Circuit Court.
According to the complaint, Welch was a facility maintenance technician for U-Haul from 2017 until his firing in 2019.
On January 10, 2019, he says he injured his knee while working in Elkins. He alerted Bowles, who is president of U-Haul of West Virginia, who told Welch to “suck it up” and keep working.
Welch says he tried to keep working, but his knee continued to get worse. On January 14, 2019, he went to a medical facility in St. Albans and was told to not work until January 16, 2019.