Benjamin J. Wilson is an Associate in the Firm’s Labor and Employment and Workplace Safety and Health practice groups, focusing on labor and employment litigation and workplace safety. He practices out of the Firm’s office in Charleston, West Virginia.
Ben maintains a broad employer-oriented practice, from counseling and representing employers on labor and employment matters in state and federal court and agencies to representing employers in administrative proceedings before the Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. As a labor and employment lawyer, Ben focuses on defending employers in state and federal court, as well as state and federal agencies, with respect to claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful and retaliatory discharge, and wage and hour violations. Ben also represents employers in traditional labor law matters involving the National Labor Relations Act. He was part of the firm’s team who co-authored an amicus brief supporting the constitutionality of West Virginia’s right to work law in Morrisey v. West Virginia AFL-CIO, 243 W. Va. 86, 842 S.E.2d 455 (2020). He also counsels and guides employers through safety regulations and represents them before various state and federal agencies in citation contests and discrimination proceedings.
Ben practiced with Jackson Kelly upon graduation from law school and also served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Thomas E. Johnston, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Ben received his law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2017, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of Volume 119 of the West Virginia Law Review and served as aa teaching assistant for the legal writing program. Ben maintains a presence at the College of Law today, serving as an Adjunct Lecturer for the Supreme Court Clinic where he assists students on appellate matters through their work in the Clinic.
Ben’s work history also gives him a unique perspective. Prior to law school, Ben was a commissioned park ranger for the State of Michigan, where he was able to exercise his love of the outdoors in tandem with his Bachelor’s degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Resources, which he received from Michigan State University. He also enjoys spending his spare time with his fiancé and their two sons, their two dogs, and rooting for the Spartans.
