Westinghouse fired her over a line dance, manager’s lawsuit says

In June 2023, her supervisor wrote her a recommendation for the Next-UP program, described in the complaint as a program for women in the nuclear power industry ready for director-level roles. In October 2023, the Vice President of Sales told her she was a frontrunner for her manager’s job, the filing states. 

Then she got pregnant with her second child. 

Kale alleges she was hospitalized in January 2024 with pre-eclampsia, took four weeks of short-term disability before giving birth on February 14, 2024, and returned from parental leave on May 20, 2024. Three days later, she says, her supervisor and an HR representative pulled her into a meeting and placed her on a “Behavioral Action Plan.” The plan flagged concerns about “active listening,” “compromise,” and “teamwork.” When she asked for specific examples, her supervisor could not provide any, according to the complaint. The required biweekly check-ins that followed produced only positive feedback, the filing states. 

The firing came about six weeks later, and the stated reason had nothing to do with the behavioral plan. 

In June 2024, Kale attended the Pressurized Water Reactor Industry Working Group Conference in San Antonio. She was the only female Westinghouse employee there, the complaint says. After a client dinner, the group went to a bar called Coyote Ugly. Kale alleges she joined a country line dance with seven to ten other women, was sober, and did nothing sexual or inappropriate.