A lawsuit filed by miners who say they were unlawfully laid off in Wyoming County has been certified as a class action.

The Register-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1Y8wwMZ) Judge Irene Berger granted the certification Tuesday in Beckley federal court.

The order says Michael Ray and at least 76 miners at the Double-Bonus Mine No. 65, owned by Mechel Bluestone Inc., were laid off between November 2013 and December 2013, in violation of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

The miners say they were laid off verbally, without a sixty-day notice and their medical and dental coverage was improperly terminated.

The lawsuit says the United Mine Workers also didn’t receive written notice of the layoff.

A pretrial conference hearing is set for July 21, and the trial is slated for August 8.