Monday, September 1, 2008

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered coal giant Massey Energy Co. to offer new jobs to 85 union miners who lost jobs at a West Virginia mine in 2004.

The miners were laid off when Richmond, Va.-based Massey took over the eastern Kanawha County mine after the previous owner, Horizon Natural Resources, went into bankruptcy.

In a ruling Friday in Charleston, Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin gave Massey 15 days to offer the laid-off workers interim employment.

A union spokesman declined immediate comment, and a Massey spokesman did not immediately return a call Sunday.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)