The offer usually comes with good news attached. A supervisor slot opens up, HR calls, and the new job pays more. If you work for the West Virginia Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, or the Department of Health Facilities, there is one question you need answered before you say yes: will you keep your state employee grievance rights in the new position?
Since July 1, 2026, the answer for a lot of workers is no. A law passed during the 2026 legislative session, House Bill 4025, moved new hires in those three departments out of the classified civil service system and out of the state grievance procedure. It did the same to current employees who leave their position for another job inside those agencies. People who stay put keep their protections. People who move lose them, often without anyone explaining the trade.
Klie Law Offices has represented West Virginia state workers for years, and our public employee grievance lawyers are fielding more of these questions every month. Here is what changed, who it affects, what protections you still have, and what to do before you sign a new position letter.
What Did House Bill 4025 Change?
HB 4025 added a new section to the West Virginia Code, § 5F-2-10. Starting July 1, 2026, employees of the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Health Facilities are exempt from two things that have protected state workers for decades: the classified civil service system (W. Va. Code § 29-6-1 et seq.) and the public employees grievance procedure (W. Va. Code § 6C-2-1 et seq.).
In plain terms, "classified-exempt" means you serve at the will of the agency. Your employer no longer has to show good cause to discipline, demote, or fire you. You also lose the three-level grievance process that ends with a hearing before an administrative law judge at the West Virginia Public Employees Grievance Board. That board handled more than 600 cases in 2022, according to its most recent annual report, many of them about pay, job classification, and discipline. For workers covered by HB 4025, that door is now closed.
This was not the first move of its kind. In 2025, lawmakers stripped the same protections from new hires and job changers at a group of other agencies, including the Departments of Administration, Revenue, Environmental Protection, and Veterans Assistance. Those earlier departments had 5,077 employees, and the governor's general counsel estimated this year's change was similar in size.
Who Keeps State Employee Grievance Rights, and Who Loses Them
The new law draws its line at your current chair.
- You keep classified status and grievance rights if you were a classified employee in one of the three departments before July 1, 2026, and you stay in your current position.
- You start without them if you were hired on or after July 1, 2026. New hires are classified-exempt from day one.
- You lose them if you leave your current position and take another state job in a covered department or agency. The statute says the switch to exempt status happens "at that time," which means the promotion or transfer you accept is the moment your protections end. If the agency moves you involuntarily, get advice before assuming your rights are gone.
There are a few exceptions. Department secretaries can keep certain positions classified when federal law, federal regulations, or federal funding rules require it, and the change does not apply to positions the governor appoints. The state's bans on nepotism, favoritism, and discrimination still apply to everyone.
That middle group is where people get hurt. Think about a caseworker at a county DHS office in Upshur or Harrison County, or a nurse at William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston, in Lewis County. After years of steady service, a promotion looks like pure upside. Under HB 4025, it can also mean trading a job with due process for one that can end with a single phone call.
What Does "At-Will" Really Mean for a State Worker?
West Virginia is an at-will employment state, and most private-sector workers already live under that rule. Classified state employees were different. They could be disciplined or dismissed only for good cause, and they could challenge that decision through the grievance process without having to hire a lawyer first.
Here is what classified-exempt status looks like day to day:
- A suspension or firing no longer has to be backed by a finding of good cause.
- There is no Level One conference, no Level Two mediation, and no Level Three hearing before the Grievance Board.
- Disputes over pay, job classification, or being worked out of classification lose their built-in forum.
- Your real protection shifts to the civil rights and whistleblower laws that cover every worker.
That last point is the good news. At-will does not mean anything goes.
The Protections HB 4025 Did Not Take Away
An agency can let a classified-exempt worker go without good cause. It still cannot fire anyone for an illegal reason. These laws apply whether you are classified, exempt, full-time, or brand new:
- Discrimination laws. The West Virginia Human Rights Act and federal laws like Title VII, the ADA, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibit decisions based on race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, and other protected traits. Learn more about workplace discrimination.
- Retaliation protections. Reporting discrimination, harassment, or wage violations is protected activity. Punishing you for it is employer retaliation, and it is illegal.
- Whistleblower laws. West Virginia's Whistle-blower Law protects public employees who report wrongdoing or waste in good faith. Health care workers who raise patient safety concerns have added protection under the West Virginia Patient Safety Act.
- Medical leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act still protects eligible employees who take leave for their own serious health condition or to care for family.
- Public policy. West Virginia courts have long allowed claims when an employer fires someone in a way that violates a substantial public policy, such as punishing a worker for refusing to break the law.
What changes is how you enforce these rights. Without the grievance process, the path usually runs through the Human Rights Commission, the EEOC, or a lawsuit, and some of those deadlines are short. Getting advice early matters more now than it did a year ago.
Before You Accept a Promotion or Transfer: A Checklist
If you work in one of the covered departments and a new position is on the table, slow the process down long enough to protect yourself.
- Ask HR in writing what your status will be in the new job. Use the words "classified" and "grievance procedure." An email works. Save the reply.
- Ask whether the position has been designated as classified because of federal funding or federal rules. Some grant-funded roles may be.
- Weigh the raise against what you give up. A few thousand dollars a year may be worth it. It may not be, especially in a unit with high turnover or a history of conflict.
- Request copies of your evaluations and personnel records before you move. A clean record from your classified years helps if a dispute comes up later.
- If you already have a complaint in motion, talk to a lawyer before changing positions. Timing can matter.
None of this is meant to talk you out of a good opportunity. It is meant to make sure you take it with your eyes open.
What If You Already Moved and Things Went Wrong?
If you took a new position after July 1 and have since been written up, demoted, or let go, you may still have options. Ask yourself a few questions. Did the trouble start after you reported something, took medical leave, or complained about how you or a coworker were treated? Were you replaced by someone much younger, or treated differently than coworkers outside a protected group? Did anyone tell you the move would not affect your rights?
Facts like those can turn an at-will firing into a wrongful termination claim. Write down dates, names, and what was said while it is fresh, and keep copies of any documents you are allowed to keep. Then get a lawyer's eyes on it before a filing deadline passes.
A Note for Ohio Public Employees
Ohio has not made the same change. Classified employees in Ohio's civil service can generally be removed, suspended, or reduced in pay only for the reasons listed in Ohio Revised Code § 124.34, and many can appeal to the State Personnel Board of Review. Many state and county workers are also covered by union contracts, and when a contract provides for binding arbitration, its grievance procedure generally takes the place of a Board of Review appeal. If you work for a public employer in Canton or elsewhere in Stark County and your status is changing, our Canton, Ohio office can walk you through the rules that apply to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does HB 4025 take away my grievance rights if I stay in my current job?
No. If you were a classified employee in the Department of Health, Human Services, or Health Facilities before July 1, 2026, you keep your classified status and grievance rights as long as you remain in your current position. The change reaches new hires and employees who move to a different position.
Does a lateral transfer count, or only a promotion?
The statute is written around leaving your current position, not around pay grade. Based on that wording, a lateral move you accept inside the covered agencies can trigger the change just like a promotion. An involuntary reassignment is less clear-cut. Get your post-move status from HR in writing before you accept.
Can I still file a grievance over pay or classification?
Not if you are classified-exempt. Pay and classification disputes lose their grievance forum under HB 4025. If the pay issue involves discrimination, retaliation, or unpaid wages, other laws may still give you a claim.
Can a classified-exempt state employee be fired for no reason?
Generally, yes. A classified-exempt employee can be let go without good cause. What the agency cannot do is fire you for an illegal reason, such as discrimination, retaliation for a protected complaint, whistleblowing, or taking protected medical leave.
Which other agencies lost civil service protections?
A 2025 law made similar changes at several agencies, including the Departments of Administration, Revenue, Environmental Protection, and Veterans Assistance, and a separate 2026 law, House Bill 5441, did the same at the Department of Transportation. If you work anywhere in state government, confirm your classification before accepting a new position.
Talk to a West Virginia Employment Lawyer Before You Sign
Changes like HB 4025 get passed in Charleston and explained in a one-page HR memo, if they get explained at all. The people who pay for the confusion are the employees who trusted that a promotion was just a promotion. You deserve a straight answer about what you are giving up and what rights you still have.
Klie Law Offices has stood up for West Virginia workers since 2005, and every client gets a paralegal assigned to their case who is usually reachable during business hours. If you are weighing a new position, or you already moved and things have gone sideways, request a free case evaluation or book an appointment online. Founding attorney Erika Klie Kolenich built this firm to fight for the people who keep West Virginia running. We serve state employees from our offices in Buckhannon, Clarksburg, Morgantown, and Parkersburg, along with Canton, Ohio. See how our employment law team can help.
