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The West Virginia Human Rights Act protects employees from unlawful discrimination in the workplace. It states that an employee cannot be fired, denied employment, or treated in a different manner which adversely affects that employee’s employment status or environment because of their race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age (40 and above), blindness and/or disability. The Human Rights Act also protects employees from sexual and racial harassment and allows for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. As with the Fair Housing Act in West Virginia, the West Virginia Human Rights Act also protects individuals who oppose discrimination and/or complain about discriminatory practices to management within the company or to the West Virginia Human Rights Commission. The Act states that these are protected activities, for which an employer cannot retaliate against an employee for participating.