House 5539

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 5539

By Delegates Hornbuckle, Fluharty, Hamilton, Garcia, and Lewis

[Introduced February 16, 2026; referred to the Committee on Energy and Public Works then Government Organization]

A BILL to amend and reenact §16b-17-9a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to granting employment preference to certain unemployed coal miners.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 17. human rights commission.

§16B-17-9a. Veterans, and military spouses and unemployed coal miners preference not a violation of equal employment opportunity under certain circumstances.

(a) An employer may grant preference in hiring to a veteran or disabled veteran who has been honorably discharged from the United States Armed Services, or to a military spouse, or an unemployed coal miner provided that the person granted the hiring preference meets all of the knowledge, skills, and eligibility requirements of the job to be filled. Such hiring preference may be granted without violating the provisions of this article or any other state equal employment opportunity law.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Military spouse" means the husband or wife of a member of the Armed Forces who, as determined by the United States Secretary of Defense, is performing active duty pursuant to orders that authorize a permanent change of station move, if such husband or wife relocates to the member's new permanent duty station.  

(2) "Unemployed coal miner" means an individual who has been employed for an aggregate period of not less than five years in coal mining employment performed at a mine site, who has been unemployed as a coal miner for a continuous period of more than one year, is not retired, and is legally eligible for employment.  An individual is not deemed an unemployed coal miner under this section if the individual was separated from coal mining employment for cause, including, but not limited to, violation of employer policy, violation of state or federal law or safety requirements.

(3) "Veteran" means any person who has received an honorable discharge and:

(A) Has provided more than 180 consecutive days of full-time, active-duty service in the United States Armed Services or Reserve components thereof, including the National Guard; or

(B) Has a service-connected disability rating fixed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

(2) "Military spouse" means the husband or wife of a member of the Armed Forces who, as determined by the United States Secretary of Defense, is performing active duty pursuant to orders that authorize a permanent change of station move, if such husband or wife relocates to the member's new permanent duty station.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow a public or private employer to show hiring preference to unemployed coal miners.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.