Martinez v. Asplundh Tree Expert Co.

LOUGHRY, C.J.,

concurring, joined by KETCHUM, J.:

The Legislature, in enacting West Virginia Code § 55-7E-3, commendably sought to eradicate West Virginia’s outlier status regarding unmitigated back and front pay in employment claims and thereby eliminate an unjustifiable windfall to plaintiffs. The duty of an injured plaintiff to mitigate damages is a long-standing and universally recognized principle that Mason County Board of Education v. State Superintendent of Schools, 170 W.Va. 632, 295 S.E.2d 719 (1982), obliterated, thereby creating a blight on our state’s wrongful discharge law. West…