$75,000 Settlement Reached In Disability Discrimination Suit

EVANSTON, IL — City attorneys have reached a $75,000 settlement to resolve a federal discrimination lawsuit involving allegations Evanston violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by firing a facility manager in the parks department because she could no longer lift heavy items. Staff recommended aldermen approve the settlement payment at Monday's city council meeting.

Cecilia Lindstom, 58, of Evanston, spent more than a decade working for the city, according to her complaint. She was first hired in November 2005 as an administrative assistant to the manager of the Ecology Center. From 2008, she worked part-time as facilities supervisor in the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

But in February 2015, Lindstrom was injured in a fall at work. During her medical treatment, she was unable to lift large objects, so she was aided by a custodian who was already on duty, her lawsuit said. She was eventually able to lift more weight, but according to her physician she was restricted from lifting more than 40 pounds without assistance — something that only happened twice after her injury, according to the suit.

City staff told Lindstrom in August 2016 that she needed to request an accommodation for her permanent disability, which she did while continuing "to perform her duties and responsibilities with no issue," her complaint alleged.

The next month, city officials rejected her request for an accommodation, notifying Lindstrom she had three weeks to get a note from a doctor saying she could lift at least 50 pounds if she wanted to keep the job, according to the suit.

Lindstrom was told she could apply for a different job with the city, but the only one available paid half as much as she was making as facilities supervisor, according to her complaint. The city fired her at the end of December 2016, and attorney Karuna Brunk filed suit on her behalf in October 2017.

The three-count complaint claimed the city had discriminated against Lindstrom, failed to accommodate her disability and retaliated against her for requesting accommodations in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act, or IHRA.

Evanston's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the IHRA portion of the suit because Lindstrom missed the 180-day deadline to file suit when began on the date in October 2016 when she learned she would be fired, and U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Coleman agreed and dismissed part of the suit in February 2018.

In March 2019, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole ordered a sixth and, he said, likely final extension of time to complete discovery. A status hearing had been set for July 18 in the case before both sets of lawyers agreed on the settlement figure.