A recently filed federal lawsuit alleges that a former employee faced discrimination and retaliation after requesting medical accommodations related to a disability. The legal action claims the employer reassigned her duties, subjected her to hostile treatment, and ultimately terminated her employment following complaints about workplace conduct.
Johana Avila filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on March 3, 2026, naming OSI Industries, LLC as the defendant. According to court documents, Avila is represented by Michael T. Smith & Associates, P.C.
The complaint states that Avila began working for OSI Industries around May 1, 2024 as a Food Safety and Quality Programs Manager. She describes herself as a Hispanic woman of Honduran descent residing in Burbank, Illinois. The filing asserts that she was qualified for her position and met or exceeded performance expectations when evaluated consistently without regard to disability or protected activity.
Avila’s disability stems from an incident in 2022 when she was involved in an altercation with a dog that resulted in part of her ear being bitten off. This injury affected her hearing and required protective measures to prevent infections. In November 2024, Avila requested medical leave for surgery to reconstruct her ear using skin from her body. After complications required additional surgery, she sought an extension of her leave but accepted an alternative accommodation to work remotely during recovery.
The complaint reports that Avila was able to perform all essential job duties while working remotely between surgeries and after returning from medical leave. However, approximately one week after resuming in-person work following her second surgery, OSI Industries hired Cory Carson as Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager and reassigned most of Avila’s responsibilities to him.
Two weeks after returning to work onsite, Avila discovered that her name had been removed from one office door and she was restricted to using only an office located inside a refrigerated plant area rather than the main heated management office she previously occupied. She claims this change negatively impacted her recovery due to the need to keep her ear warm.
Avila alleges that Carson; Andrew Guay (Engineer Manager); and Linda Marra (Senior Food Safety & Quality Manager) subjected her to heightened scrutiny and generally hostile treatment. According to the filing: “Mr. Carson frequently mocked Plaintiff’s accent and baselessly criticized her grammar… Mr. Carson would also publicly criticize Plaintiff’s work as ‘nonsense’.” She further states that suggestions made during meetings were often berated or mocked by Carson and Guay.
On February 1, 2025, Avila reported these concerns—including harassment related to working conditions affecting her disability—to Marra. She alleges Marra responded by warning that escalating complaints beyond local human resources could result in termination: “Ms. Marra responded by advising Plaintiff that she should discuss her issues with Defendant’s in-house human resources department, but if she escalated the matter to Defendant’s corporate human resources, then she would be terminated.”
Three days later, Avila was placed on what she describes as a baseless performance improvement plan with unrealistic goals—a departure from proper procedures according to the complaint. On March 11, 2025 she escalated concerns via email to corporate human resources associate Jackie Olney who replied stating there would be an investigation; however no such investigation occurred according to Avila’s account.
Following these actions by HR staff at OSI Industries LLC., Marra allegedly changed reporting structures so that Avila lost supervisory responsibilities over subordinates while those employees were reassigned under Carson’s supervision instead.
Within weeks of these events described above—and shortly after escalating complaints—Avila’s employment was terminated by OSI Industries LLC., which she claims lacked legitimate cause or justification.
The lawsuit includes six counts: disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), race discrimination under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991; race discrimination under Title VII; national origin discrimination under Title VII; retaliation under ADA; and retaliation under Title VII. Each count alleges adverse actions including hostile work environment practices; replacement by another employee; denial of reasonable accommodation; loss of supervisory duties; placement on unwarranted performance plans; and termination following protected activity such as requesting accommodations or reporting alleged discriminatory conduct.
For each claim presented in Counts I through VI—the plaintiff requests equitable or injunctive relief where appropriate; actual damages including lost wages proven at trial; compensatory damages for emotional distress; punitive damages where allowed by law; reinstatement or front pay if reinstatement is not feasible; reasonable attorney’s fees costs disbursements; plus any other relief deemed just by the court.
Attorney Michael T. Smith is listed as counsel for Johana Avila in this case (Case No.: 1:26-cv-02357).
Source: 126cv02357_Johana_Avila_v_Osi_Industries_Complaint_Northern_District_of_Illinois.pdf
