Lisa Thompson has filed a civil complaint against Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, alleging multiple violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes. The complaint was filed on May 22, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Thompson, an African American female and former employee of Westinghouse, asserts that she faced racial and gender discrimination during her tenure at the company. She claims that despite her qualifications and experience, she was consistently overlooked for promotions and subjected to a hostile work environment. Thompson's complaint details several instances where she felt marginalized and discriminated against by her manager, Charles Thiel. According to Thompson, Thiel frequently interrupted her during meetings while allowing Caucasian employees to speak without interruption. Additionally, she alleges that when she missed a meeting due to a doctor's appointment, Thiel questioned her whereabouts—a scrutiny not applied to her Caucasian colleagues.
The complaint also highlights an incident in December 2022 when Jenna Manning, a less experienced Caucasian employee, was hired for a full-time Agile Team Lead position without the job being posted internally. Thompson contends that she had been performing the duties of this role for over a year without receiving the corresponding title or pay. Despite recommendations from leadership members and project team members for Thompson to be officially placed in this role, Manning was selected instead.
Thompson further alleges that her attempts to seek career advancement were thwarted by Thiel. When she expressed interest in leadership training programs, Thiel questioned her intentions and denied support for her professional growth. In January 2023, Thompson met with Evonne Bennet, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Westinghouse, to discuss these issues but received no substantial resolution.
In February 2023, after reporting these discriminatory practices to Human Resources Business Partner Nora Malcho and providing feedback from colleagues on her performance review, Thompson's request to reopen her performance review was approved. However, shortly thereafter in March 2023, during a meeting with Thiel and Malcho, Thompson was terminated without any given reason.
Thompson is seeking various forms of relief from the court including back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress and humiliation caused by the alleged discrimination and retaliation. She also seeks punitive damages due to what she describes as intentional malice or reckless indifference by Westinghouse towards her rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The case is being handled by Christopher A. Minias of The Minias Law Firm representing Lisa Thompson. The presiding judge is yet to be named under Case ID: 2:24-cv-01347-GGG-MBN.