Update

BlackJewel coal miners are frustrated with no end in sight.

The miners met with Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear in a private meeting.

"The reason we did the meeting today the way we did today was so everyone could be candid. These are really proud hardworking people that are going through real hardships, and I wanted to make sure I could hear their specific concerns and where we can address them and do everything we can," said Beshear.

A lot of those concerns are over 401ks and child support.

Quincy Adams, a BlackJewel coal miner says he had problems with child support months ago.

"Back in January, February time frame I actually had child support being deducted from my account, and my ex wife called me and told me she hadn't been receiving child support," said Adams.

Many of of the other miners are missing that money as well.

"Somebody's got the money. I don't know who's got it but somebody's got it. My children is not getting to experience having that money. I pay $1,000 a month. Coal miners pay a lot of child support," said BlackJewel miner Jeffery Hudson.

Beshear says he is trying to get what is owed back to the miners.

"I'm pressing this bankruptcy court to change their practice and do something unprecedented and to go ahead and pay those wages," said Beshear.

He is also hiring investigators to look into the situation.

Original Story

Attorneys for BlackJewel miners filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court on Thursday.

The lawsuit takes aim at unpaid wages, lost benefits and the fact miners received no notice they would lose their jobs.

Kentucky's Attorney General Andy Beshear was in Harlan on Thursday.

He is investigating any wrongdoing by the company and its former owner Jeffrey Hoops.

The attorney general's office is also investigating the missing paychecks and looking into the payroll deductions from benefits such as 401ks and child support.

Those payments were taken out of their paychecks, but the money did not go where it was supposed to.

Beshear is asking the miners to write handwritten statements about the missing deductions so he can give them to his investigators.

"We can find out more of a time frame on when we can actually see our money that is already owed to us. At this point, I'm already owed 22 days that I have actually worked and the last paid that I, money that I

received from the company was well over 40 days ago," said Quincy Adams, one of the miners affected by the bankruptcy.