A former employee has taken legal action against a manufacturing company, alleging disability discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On January 31, 2025, Hugo Lara filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Accurate Felt & Gasket Manufacturing Co. The lawsuit accuses the company of failing to accommodate Lara's disability and retaliating against him for seeking such accommodations.
Hugo Lara, who resides in Cook County, Illinois, was employed by Accurate Felt & Gasket Manufacturing Co. as a production manager since January 2011. His responsibilities included managing a team, ensuring timely completion of work, and adhering to company policies. In 2019, Lara suffered an accident at work that resulted in knee injuries requiring surgery. Despite notifying the company's HR department about his condition and medical needs, Lara claims he faced resistance when requesting necessary accommodations for his surgeries.
The complaint details how Lara underwent a full knee replacement on March 9, 2023, and needed another surgery later that year. However, he alleges that the company's HR department denied him leave for the second surgery within the same year. This denial allegedly exacerbated his condition until he finally had the second knee replacement on February 22, 2024. Following this procedure, Lara's disability insurance lapsed on June 30, 2024. He received an email warning of termination if he could not return to work by July 11, 2024.
Despite being cleared by his doctor to return with restrictions—avoiding prolonged walking or standing—Lara was informed he could not resume work unless "90% available." Confused by this requirement and believing it unnecessary given his supervisory role's nature, Lara was ultimately terminated via email on July 10, 2024. The termination email cited fatigue over ongoing accommodation requests as a reason.
Lara contends that these actions violated ADA provisions by discriminating based on his disability and failing to engage in an interactive process for reasonable accommodations. He also claims retaliation for engaging in protected activities under ADA guidelines. In response to these alleged violations, Lara seeks various forms of relief from the court: back pay with interest; front pay; compensation for lost benefits; compensatory and punitive damages; attorneys' fees; costs; pre-judgment interest; and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing Hugo Lara is Mohammed O. Badwan from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., located in Lombard, Illinois. The case is filed under Case ID: 1:25-cv-01086.