Crystal Gale Thurston v. The MacKe Company

The district court held that the Virginia Workmen’s Compensation Act, Va.Code § 65.1-1, et seq., does not imply a cause of action in favor of a discharged employee against his employer who has discharged that employee because of the employee’s assertion of a claim under the Act. We affirm.

That same district court (Judge Williams) had previously held that such a cause of action is not implied in Blevins v. General Electric Co., 491 F.Supp. 521 (W.D.Va.1980), and we give some weight to the decisions of trial judges sitting in a State and familiar with the local law and its trends. E.g., Peacock…