In a gripping legal battle, a former employee has taken her grievances to court, accusing her previous employer of discrimination and retaliation. Theresa Clarke filed a lawsuit against Advocate Aurora Health, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois on January 14, 2025. Clarke alleges that the healthcare giant violated her rights under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
The complaint details Clarke's tumultuous journey at Advocate Aurora Health, where she began working as an Associate Director of Workers Compensation in November 2020. According to Clarke, she suffers from several health issues including heart problems, depression, ADHD, and work-related anxiety. Her troubles allegedly began after a company merger in May 2023 when she was assigned a new manager, Melinda Daniel. Despite receiving a promotion and positive performance reviews in February 2024, Clarke claims that Daniel burdened her with an overwhelming workload without transferring any responsibilities to her replacement.
Clarke's mental and physical health reportedly deteriorated due to this increased workload. In April 2024, during a virtual meeting with Daniel where Clarke kept her camera off due to mental health reasons, Daniel allegedly dismissed her concerns and insisted on having the camera on for future meetings. A Human Resources representative later confirmed that keeping the camera off could be considered a reasonable accommodation.
The situation escalated when Clarke requested medical leave in July 2024 due to health issues. She claims that Daniel's response implied potential retaliation by suggesting that another job might be better for her. Despite reassurances from Daniel about job security if she took leave as recommended by her physician, Clarke felt pressured not to take time off.
Upon returning from three weeks of FMLA leave in August 2024, Clarke faced further challenges including questioning of her work performance by Daniel and being advised against accepting a leadership opportunity outside the company—a decision made without consulting higher management or HR. In October 2024, Clarke learned that there had been discussions about terminating her while she was on leave.
Clarke's complaint accuses Advocate Aurora Health of disability-based discrimination and harassment under the ADA for failing to accommodate her needs and retaliating against her for requesting accommodations and taking FMLA leave. She argues that these actions resulted in wrongful termination based on perceived disability.
In seeking justice, Clarke requests back pay with interest, compensatory damages for emotional distress caused by these events, punitive damages against Advocate Aurora Health for their alleged misconducts along with reasonable attorney fees among other reliefs deemed appropriate by court.
Representing Theresa Clarke is Nathan C. Volheim from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., while no information about defense attorneys is provided within this document filing identified as Case: 1:25-cv-01017 presided over by judges yet unnamed officially within public records available thus far regarding proceedings initiated early year date marked January fourteenth twenty-five two thousand twenty-five central district jurisdiction Peoria division federal level judiciary authority United States America