A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is sending ripples throughout the employment law community, but for reasons that may not seem obvious to the casual fan. The case involves Shaka Freeman, an African American man with alcoholism, who sued his former employer for firing him because of his race and disability, see Freeman v. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, No. 18-3737 (7th Cir. June 3, 2019)

Freeman’s case had a bit of a checkered path en route to the court of appeals. After four attempts (and four different court-appointed lawyers), Freeman eventually filed his 70-page pro se complaint in the district court alleging his former employer, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (the District), fired him due to his race (African American) and disability (alcoholism); failed to reasonably accommodate his alcoholism by refusing to let him travel around the plant without using a car; and retaliated against him by firing him after he sought reasonable accommodations. Despite multiple attempts to pin down his claims, the district court dismissed Freeman’s lawsuit for failure to state a claim. Those claims, however, were revived on appeal.

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