A St. Croix man who says he lost his longtime job with Heavy Materials after suffering a stroke has been given until Oct. 5 to amend his federal lawsuit to potentially pursue disability and medical-leave claims, even as a federal judge dismissed his existing Virgin Islands wrongful-discharge claim.
Chief District Judge Robert Molloy ruled Sept. 22 that David Knolly Carter’s territorial wrongful-discharge claim is preempted by federal labor law because Carter’s employment was governed by a collective bargaining agreement. However, Molloy dismissed the complaint without prejudice, finding that Carter’s allegations could potentially support claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Family and Medical Leave Act and giving him an opportunity to amend the case.
According to the complaint as summarized by the court, Carter alleges that he worked for Heavy Materials LLC, identified in the case as doing business as Vulcan Materials Company, for 17 years on St. Croix as a heavy-equipment operator. He says that while on scheduled leave, he suffered a stroke affecting the right side of his body on Dec. 29, 2022, and remained hospitalized until Jan. 3, 2023.
Carter alleges that his healthcare provider cleared him to return to work on Feb. 12, 2023. After submitting the required paperwork, however, he says Heavy Materials told him he would need to see a company doctor and undergo a drug screening before returning. According to Carter, no date or further information was provided for either requirement despite repeated follow-up efforts, and the company instead asked him to submit additional return-to-work documentation.
The dispute continued later that year. Carter alleges that on Sept. 6, 2023, his medical provider issued another clearance requesting light-duty work, but Heavy Materials informed him that it could not accommodate a light-duty assignment. He says he submitted another return-to-work form on Sept. 11.
According to Carter, he then received a text message from a human resources manager on Oct. 20, 2023 informing him that he was no longer employed with Heavy Materials because the company could not accommodate what it described as “indefinite light-duty work.” Carter alleges that he was told a formal termination letter would follow but that he never received one despite repeated requests. He also says he contacted his union, which subsequently communicated with the company, but the dispute remained unresolved. These are Carter’s allegations and have not been adjudicated as findings of wrongdoing against Heavy Materials.
Carter filed his lawsuit in V.I. Superior Court on Aug. 11, 2025. Heavy Materials removed the case to the District Court of the Virgin Islands on Sept. 15 of that year and moved to dismiss it one week later. The company argued that Carter’s Virgin Islands wrongful-discharge claim was preempted by Section 301 of the federal Labor Management Relations Act and also contended that he had not followed the grievance process contained in the collective bargaining agreement governing his employment.
Molloy found that Carter, as a heavy-equipment operator, was covered by a collective bargaining agreement between Heavy Materials and the United Industrial Workers of the Seafarers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO. The agreement contained a grievance procedure that covered the dispute described in Carter’s complaint. The judge noted that records attached to Carter’s filing included an October 2023 letter from the union to Heavy Materials as well as a proposed grievance settlement agreement, indicating that Carter appeared to have initiated the contractual grievance process.
The judge nevertheless concluded that Carter’s wrongful-discharge claim under Virgin Islands law could not proceed because resolving it would require consideration of rights governed by the collective bargaining agreement. Relying in part on the District Court’s earlier decision in Stafford v. Hess Oil V.I. Corp., Molloy found the territorial claim preempted by Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act.
That ruling does not necessarily eliminate Carter’s ability to pursue claims arising directly under federal employment statutes. Molloy explained that a federal statutory claim that does not require interpretation or application of a collective bargaining agreement is not automatically preempted by Section 301. Because Carter’s allegations involve his medical condition, efforts to return to work and the reason he says was given for ending his employment, the court construed the complaint as potentially implicating both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The court did not find that Heavy Materials violated either federal law. Instead, Molloy ruled only that Carter may file an amended complaint attempting to properly state such claims. Carter has through Oct. 5, 2026 to do so. If no amended complaint is filed by the deadline, the judge ordered that the case be dismissed without further notice.
