A former employee has filed a lawsuit against a prominent hospital, alleging discrimination and wrongful termination due to her disabilities. Jaclyn Diaferio filed the complaint on August 23, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, against Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital.
Diaferio's lawsuit centers around multiple allegations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She claims that despite being qualified for her role as an OB Tech since March 9, 2022, she faced continuous bullying and scrutiny not experienced by her non-disabled colleagues. Her conditions include borderline personality disorder, ADHD, depression, and anxiety. According to Diaferio, these were communicated to her employer from the onset of her employment.
The conflict escalated on September 5, 2023, when Diaferio sought medical attention after a workplace injury and underwent a drug test administered by her manager. The test results showed positive for THC. Despite providing documentation from her physician explaining that her prescribed medication could yield such results, she was terminated on September 22, 2023. Diaferio asserts that this termination was discriminatory and retaliatory since she had requested reasonable accommodation to continue her medication regimen without facing punitive actions.
Diaferio’s complaint outlines several counts of violations under the ADA: disability-based discrimination, failure to accommodate her disability, harassment based on disability, and retaliation for engaging in protected activities. "Defendant’s conduct toward Plaintiff illustrated a willful and/or reckless violation of the ADA," reads one part of the complaint. She further alleges that Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital failed to engage in an interactive process to determine appropriate accommodations and instead subjected her to severe or pervasive harassment.
The plaintiff is seeking various forms of relief from the court including back pay with interest, front pay, loss of benefits, compensatory and punitive damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, pre-judgment interest if applicable, and any other relief deemed just by the court.
Representing Jaclyn Diaferio is Nathan C. Volheim from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., while no specific names are mentioned for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital's legal representation in this document. The case is identified as Case No.: 1:24-cv-07629.