CHARLESTON – A Charleston woman says she was wrongfully terminated and was a victim of various forms of discrimination by her former employer.
April Keatley filed her complaint September 12 in Kanawha Circuit Court against TransCanada USA Service Inc. and Michael Damous.
According to the complaint, Keatley originally was hired by Columbia Pipeline Group as a Senior Business Analyst in 2014. The defendant company acquired Columbia Pipeline in 2016.
Keatley later was promoted to Manager Real Estate and again to Manager Facilities and Real Estate. She says she received significant bonuses and raises within 18 months of being hired. She was promoted by TransCanada to Manager Business Intelligence in 2016 and to Manager of U.S. Business Intelligence and Standards in early 2021. At one point, she managed 18 people.
In 2020, she was asked to be a Mental Health Champion. She underwent specialized training. She says she routinely worked 60-hour weeks with TransCanada.
In 2018, she says she developed a severe stress-induced autoimmune condition called IGG-4 Pachymeningitis that brought on stroke-like symptoms of severe headaches, partial facial paralysis and exhaustion. She was a patient at Charleston Area Medical Center for five days before being transferred to Johns Hopkins Medical Center for 10 days. She had a craniotomy there as well.
Keatley says she returned to work about two weeks after that surgery “out of concern both for her employer and her own continued employment and felt her job was in jeopardy given her inability to work sixty-hour weeks as she had routinely leading up to her health issues.”
She eventually took about 35 days of Short Term Disability leave to address her condition. She says medical providers suggested a longer leave, but she returned sooner because of her strong sense of dedication and duty to the company and her concern for her job being in jeopardy.
Keatley says she had been approved to work remotely, but her supervisor said that was unacceptable and expected her to meet all of the demands of her job despite her health condition.
In addition, Keatley says Damous was her supervisor for two stints during her time with TransCanada. He also was in a leadership position above her throughout her employment even when he didn’t directly manage her.
She says Damous made misogynistic comments to her and others indicating he didn’t like or want a woman in a leadership position. Keatley says Damous also treated women, including her, unreasonably, rudely, arbitrarily, hypercritically and dismissively. She says she found Damous’ conduct “very concerning and unsettling.”
Also, Keatley says she and her husband began trying to conceive a child in 2019. They eventually began seeing a fertility specialist after she says she delayed having a child because she was “focusing on TransCanada’s needs instead.”
She says they have conceived a few times through in vitro fertilization but lost the baby each time early on in the pregnancy.
In 2020, Keatley says she ran into “considerable conflict” with TransCanada because she had been prescribed Rituximab for her auto-immune disorder that was the only possible medication for her given her efforts to conceive. The drug costs more than $20,000 per treatment, and TransCanada’s self-administered health insurance meant the expense would be absorbed directly.
She says the company initially refused to cover Rituximab, but she appealed the decision and threatened legal action before the company agreed to cover it.
But Keatley says that only increased the company’s unfair criticisms and treatment of her.
In 2021, Damous again was Keatley’s direct supervisor. She says his comments and treatment of her grew worse as she battled her auto-immune disease and tried to conceive.
Early in 2022, Keatley says Damous placed her on a Performance Improvement Plan despite him no longer being her supervisor.
Late in 2022, Keatley and her husband conceived again with a successful IVF implantation. The company’s benefits policy included a maternity leave for up to 16 weeks of paid leave. In January 2023, when she asked about her 2024 bonus would be affected if she took the full 16 weeks, she says Damous would have been aware of her pregnancy at that time.
“Damous’ attitude, behavior and statements toward plaintiff were not good prior to her health issues based solely on her gender, but her health issues and the attendance medical costs, period of temporary disability and pregnancy made it significantly worse,” the complaint states.
When she reached a significant milestone in the pregnancy making it much more likely it would be successful, Keatley said she finally shared the news with others, including work colleagues on February 13, 2023. The next day, she told immediate supervisor Brandon Sproles the news and told him the due date of August 10 and that she planned to take the full 16 weeks of maternity leave.
On February 15, Sproles advised Keatley she was being fired because of a reorganization. After she was fired, she also learned her team was transferred back under Damous’ supervision.
“Damous, who had clearly demonstrated through his past conduct and comments that he did not like having plaintiff, a female, in a leadership position and had attempted to sabotage any chance at further promotions within TransCanada with implementation of a baseless PIP, had heard of her pregnancy, her due date and desire to take the full 16 weeks of maternity leave on top of knowing of her auto-immune condition, the expenses associated therewith, and her inability to work sixty-hour weeks any longer and decided to terminate plaintiff’s employment instead of bring her with her team under his supervision, all of which was gender, familial status and disability-based discrimination,” the complaint states.
Keatley accuses the defendants of discrimination in violation of the West Virginia Human Rights Act, discrimination in violation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and violation of the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act.
She seeks joint and several compensatory damages for lost wages and benefits, future lost earning capacity, indignity, embarrassment, humiliation, annoyance, inconvenience, emotional distress and mental anguish. She also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other expenses.
Keatley is being represented by attorney David J. Mincer of Charleston.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-807