Carolyn Wade has been affiliated with the firm of Steptoe & Johnson since 1990. Prior to that, she worked for ten years in the Legal Department at Weirton Steel Corporation where she represented the Industrial Relations Department in various labor relations and human resource matters. While at Weirton Steel she negotiated the company’s first collective bargaining agreement with its bargaining unit of nurses and medical technicians.

AREAS OF CONCENTRATION

Employment Discrimination
Ms. Wade has represented clients before state and federal courts of West Virginia, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the West Virginia Human Rights Commission. She has defended numerous employment discrimination matters involving claims of race, sex, age, disability, religion, and national origin discrimination.

Wrongful Discharge
Ms. Wade has worked on a variety of cases involving:

• Retaliatory discharge
• Contractual issues
• Other employment-related torts

Labor-Management Relations
Ms. Wade has experience handling:

• Grievance and arbitration proceedings
• Contract negotiations
• NLRB charges and litigation
• Union campaigns

Personnel Counseling
Ms. Wade routinely assists employers in drafting personnel policies and manuals, analyzing employment decisions and in counseling and disciplining employees. She frequently provides employee and supervisory training and has presented numerous seminars devoted to workplace violence, harassment, and performance evaluations and drug testing.

Ms. Wade is active in community affairs, including Hope, Inc. and the Bridgeport Kiwanis.  She also serves in various capacities with her church.  She is a member of the Humane Society of the United States, the American Arbitration Association and the Society for Human Resource Management, serving as president of the North Central Chapter.  Ms. Wade is a member of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, where she serves on the Human Resources Committee.

Ms. Wade is a member of the Harrison County Bar Association, the West Virginia State Bar Association, and is a committee member of the Employment Law Section of the West Virginia State Bar.

Ms. Wade received her law degree from Duquesne University and her undergraduate degree from West Virginia University.