Cornered: Out of Court
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Cornered: Out of Court
Cornered: Davina DiPaolo on Employment Discrimination
Employment discrimination is a legal issue that receives popular attention, but many outside of the legal profession don't understand what qualifies as discrimination. In our first episode of Cornered: Out of Court for 2026, Davina DiPaolo of Loftus & Eisenberg, Ltd., explains how she educates potential clients about claiming discrimination in the workplace. Ms. DiPaolo is one of the authors of the IICLE handbook, Employment Discrimination, which is in a new edition for 2026 and is available now at IICLE.com.
IICLE® is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit based in Springfield, Illinois. We produce a wide range of practice guidance for Illinois attorneys and other legal professionals in all areas of law with the generous contributions of time and expertise from volunteer attorneys, judges, and other legal professionals.
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Oh, you're an attorney?
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I have a friend who...
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I've been meaning to update my will, but I just bought a new house…
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I just don't understand how her ex…
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You've been there.
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At a social function, meeting friends of friends.
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Word gets out that you're an attorney and suddenly your night is filled with partygoers asking you quote-unquote simple legal questions.
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The questions are seldom in your area.
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Some of the stuff you haven't thought about since law school.
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You're being cornered out of court.
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In the Cornered Out of Court podcast from IICLE, you'll hear from fellow attorneys about the questions they get and the responses they give to escape being cornered.
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Employment discrimination is a legal issue that receives popular attention, but many outside of the legal profession don't understand what qualifies as discrimination.
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In the first episode of 2026, Davina DiPaolo of Loftus & Eisenberg in Chicago explains how she educates potential clients about claiming discrimination in the workplace.
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My name is Davina DiPaolo, and I'm a civil rights employment attorney at Loftus & Eisenberg, which is a Chicago-based law firm.
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Let's start with what employment discrimination actually is.
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Some people, unfortunately, experience unpleasantness at work, but bad behavior is not necessarily discrimination, right?
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You're exactly right that this is a very common misconception that I encounter constantly in my work when I do, you know, free legal consultations.
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And that's that, you know, any unfair or unpleasant treatment at work automatically creates a legal claim and, you know, that you have a case.
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In reality, federal and state employment discrimination laws are much more specific.
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So to have a discrimination or a retaliation case, the employee has to demonstrate their status, you know, belonging to whether it's race, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, et cetera.
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that they suffered a concrete job-related harm, such as being terminated, demoted, being denied a promotion, an unfavorable job transfer, things like that.
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And then they have to show that, they have to provide evidence that the harm they suffered happened because of their status in one of those categories, or because they engaged in what's known as protected activity,
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such as making a good faith complaint about discrimination that you witnessed or experienced or requesting a reasonable accommodation.
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So, you know, courts have consistently held that if you experience general unfairness, rudeness, you know, bad management, but it's unrelated to your status or a protected activity, it doesn't amount to unlawful discrimination or harassment.
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So, for example,
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If your supervisor is super abrasive, disrespectful, unkind, or plays favorites for reasons that are unrelated to your status in the legal category, that conduct, while very problematic and can be detrimental to your mental health, unfortunately, doesn't violate employment laws.
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That said, it's still wise to report workplace mistreatment, even if it doesn't fall into legal
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discrimination or retaliation, you should still report it to HR to prevent escalation and to maintain a record since a pattern of misconduct could eventually develop into something that's legally actionable or rise to a hostile work environment if it later targets a status of yours.
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And, you know, it's also ideal to have a conversation with HR to try and find a solution.
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Even if it's, you know, even if you don't have a legal claim, you still want to try and resolve any workplace issues that are, you know, causing you enough harm that you're interested in reaching out to a lawyer.
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I think it's always good for folks to, when, you know, they're unsure of whether they experienced
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discrimination, retaliation, or any violation of employment laws, it's always good to get a gut check by reaching out to an attorney.
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You know, certain, our law firms, for example, provide free legal consultations at Loftus and Eisenberg.
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Not all law firms do, but, you know, if you can afford a paid one, great.
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If not, you know, going, finding a free legal consultation can really be helpful.
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to, like I said, get a gut check, to check with an expert, to understand is what I'm experiencing, like, do I have a claim here?
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And if you do, then, you know, we're always happy to help you navigate that and come to a resolution.
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And if you don't, you know, we still try to offer you any insight into, like I said, contacting HR, things like that.
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But it's definitely important to know your rights, and contacting a lawyer can really help you understand what your rights are and help you navigate any issues in the workplace.
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Are there differences between large and small employers when it comes to their obligations to employees?
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The main differences between large and small employers is really which workplace laws apply to them.
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Most of the major federal employment laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which covers discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, the Americans with Disabilities
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Act.
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Those laws only apply to employers with 15 or more employees.
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The Age Discrimination and Employment Act, also known as the ADEA, which prohibits age discrimination against employees 40 and older.
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They set their threshold at 20 or more employees.
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And then the Family and Medical Leave Act, which people know as FMLA,
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which protects certain types of unpaid job protected leave.
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That requires a workplace to have at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius to trigger coverage.
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So employers that fall below those thresholds generally aren't covered by these federal laws, meaning those protections don't apply in the smallest workplaces.
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However, there are state and local laws that sometimes set lower thresholds, so that cover, you know, 14 or less employees.
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So employees who work for, you know, smaller companies with 14 or less employees should always check whether there are any local protections that apply by, you know, consulting an attorney to see if there's any other laws that could protect them potentially.
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So what does this all mean for employees who know they have a disability or accommodation needs?
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When should they report this to their employer?
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Employees should disclose a pregnancy, disability, or a need for accommodation as soon as reasonably possible because an employer's legal duties, such as those under the Americans with Disabilities Act, also known as the ADA,
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the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and other related state laws.
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They're triggered once the employer has actual knowledge of both the condition and the specific accommodation request.
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Therefore, until you notify your employer, there generally isn't a legal obligation for them to take action or to provide accommodations or avoid discrimination.
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So disclosure launches what's known as the interactive process,
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where you and your employer work together to identify and implement a reasonable accommodation if needed.
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This process is especially critical where the necessity for the accommodation is not like immediately obvious to the employer, and disclosing early also helps ensure that your workplace needs are addressed sooner rather than later, and that your legal rights are fully protected if any issues come up later.
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In practice, waiting to disclose often delays both your access to necessary support and the legal protections afforded to you under various laws.
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So there's typically no benefits to waiting to disclose.
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Are there specific steps employees need to follow to disclose their disability or need for accommodations?
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So the first step in disclosing your pregnancy, your disability, or a related limitation
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is to communicate your condition and your need for workplace adjustment or accommodation to your employer.
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There's not any requirement to use like any special legal terms or submit any particular form.
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Any clear explanation that allows your employer to understand both your condition and what you're asking for generally suffices.
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The communication can be verbal.
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However, sending your request by e-mail or in writing, but specifically e-mail, is always in an employee's best interest and something I always advise my clients on because it provides a concrete record that the disclosure occurred.
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and it reduces the risk of any misunderstandings later on.
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So once the disclosure is made, both the employee and the employer have the duty to engage in what I referred to earlier as the interactive process.
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And that means working together in good faith to identify, you know, an effective and reasonable accommodation that allows the employee to perform the essential functions of their position.
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In some cases, the employer may require reasonable documentation from your healthcare provider or doctor to confirm the need for accommodation, but employers have to keep that information confidential.
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They have to store it separately from your personnel files and limit access to only those with like a legitimate need to know.
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And in general, the interactive process should be prompt, collaborative, and focused on solutions.
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with both sides, meaning the employer and the employee open to dialogue about possible options.
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And following these types of steps helps ensure compliance with workplace laws, and it also lays the groundwork for just a general positive and fair outcome for the employee.
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Thank you, Davina.
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Davina DiPaolo at the firm Loftus & Eisenberg focuses her practice on employees' rights and is an author of the IICLE handbook, Employment Discrimination, which is available now in a new edition for 2026.
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Thank you for joining us for another edition of Cornered Out of Court, brought to you by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education.