People: Joan E. Casciari, Partner

Joan E. Casciari

Partner

Chicago
Direct: (312) 460-5862
Fax: (312) 460-7862
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Biography

Mrs. Casciari is an equity partner in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, where she represents management in the area of employment law.  She is the co-chair of the firm’s Healthcare Group.  She has spent her entire legal career at Seyfarth Shaw.  Her practice is primarily devoted to advice, training, and counseling.  She also has extensive experience in the litigation of employment discrimination matters, including Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and retaliatory discharge cases.  She has served on the firm’s Lawyer Development Committee, which supervises and evaluates associate attorneys, and works with a team that counsels on absence management and accommodation in the workplace.  She is active in the firm’s Counseling Practice Group and is a frequent speaker on the FMLA, the ADA, employment discrimination, and other employment-related topics.  While Mrs. Casciari represents all types of employers, many of her clients are in the healthcare field and she has extensive experience in labor and employment issues relating to healthcare employers.

Mrs. Casciari is an equity partner in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, where she represents management in the area of employment law.  She is the co-chair of the firm’s Healthcare Group.  She has spent her entire legal career at Seyfarth Shaw.  Her practice is primarily devoted to advice, training, and counseling.  She also has extensive experience in the litigation of employment discrimination matters, including Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and retaliatory discharge cases.  She has served on the firm’s Lawyer Development Committee, which supervises and evaluates associate attorneys, and works with a team that counsels on absence management and accommodation in the workplace.  She is active in the firm’s Counseling Practice Group and is a frequent speaker on the FMLA, the ADA, employment discrimination, and other employment-related topics.  While Mrs. Casciari represents all types of employers, many of her clients are in the healthcare field and she has extensive experience in labor and employment issues relating to healthcare employers.

Education

  • J.D., DePaul University College of Law
    with honors
  • B.A., Indiana University

Admissions

  • Illinois

Courts

  • Supreme Court of Illinois
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Affiliations

  • Chicago Bar Association, American Health Lawyers Association

Representative Engagements

  • Cole v. Sealed Power Technologies (Cir. Ct. Cook Co.) (favorable jury verdict in a retaliatory discharge/worker’s compensation case).
  • Eagan v. Glenbrook Hospital (Ill. Human Rights Commission) (ruling in employer’s favor on all issues in age and race discrimination case tried before Human Rights Commission).
  • Jackson v. Evanston Hospital Corporation (Ill. Human Rights Commission) (employer’s motion to dismiss granted at close of plaintiff’s handicap discrimination case).
  • Judge v. Decker Coal Company (D. Mont.) (favorable jury verdict in FMLA case).
  • McCoy v. The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio Civil Rights Commission) (ruling after hearing in employer’s favor in race discrimination case).
  • McBride v. Parkside Medical Service Corporation (Ill. Human Rights Commission) (favorable ruling after hearing in age and handicap discrimination case).
  • Scarborough v. Chicago Tribune Company (Ill. Human Rights Commission) (favorable ruling after hearing in retaliatory discharge case).
  • Sollis v. United Airlines, Inc. (Cir. Ct. of Cook Co.) (favorable decision in retaliatory discharge bench trial).
  • Adusumilli v. Swedish Covenant Hospital (7th Cir.) (affirming employer’s motion to dismiss sexual harassment, hostile work environment case; lower court awarded attorneys’ fees to employer).
  • Artis v. Palos Community Hospital, (N.D.Ill.) (summary judgment granted to employer in FMLA and retaliatory discharge case alleging coerced light duty).
  • Auston v. Children’s Memorial Hospital (7th Cir.) (affirming the granting of summary judgment in a multi-party, multi-count discrimination case).
  • Bennett v. Evanston Hospital (1st Dist.) (first case in First Appellate District definitively holding a disclaimer bars a handbook claim as a matter of law).
  • Breneisen v. Motorola, Inc. (N.D. Ill. )  (summary judgment granted to employer and managerial employees on all counts of a multi-plaintiff, multi-defendant complex case alleging violations of the FMLA and tort claims).
  • Chase v. Rhodia Inc. (7th Cir.) (affirming the granting summary judgment to employer in Title VII race and retaliation case plus Section 301 claim).
  • DeHoyos v. Sealed Power Technologies (N.D. Ill.) (granting summary judgment to employer in disparate impact case involving application of no-fault absenteeism policy).
  • Egan v. Palos Community Hospital (N.D. Ill.) (granting employer’s motion to dismiss ADEA case on timeliness grounds and rejecting continuing violation argument).
  • Eiman v. Haworth, Inc. (D.N.J.) (granting summary judgment to employer in multi-count wrongful discharge case alleging hostile work environment; state law claim stayed).
  • Igoe v. United Airlines, Inc. (N.D. Ill.) (granting employer’s motion to dismiss time-barred claims; granting employer’s motion for summary judgment on age claim).
  • Hampton v. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (N.D. Ill.) (granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in Title VII case alleging aiding and abetting discrimination).
  • Johnson v. The Chronicle Publishing Co. (C.D. Ill.) (granting employer’s motion for summary judgment in Equal Pay Act case).
  • Kennedy v. Chemical Waste Management, 79 F.3d 49 (7th Cir.) (affirming the granting employer’s motion to dismiss ADA claim on timeliness grounds).
  • Kilmer v. Haworth, Inc. (W.D. Mich.) (granting employer’s motion for summary judgment in age and sex discrimination case).
  • Laird v. Cragin Federal Bank, 1994 WL 609920 (7th Cir.)  (affirming the granting employer’s motion for summary judgment in sexual harassment and retaliation case)
  • Lopez v. Children’s Memorial Hospital (N.D.Ill) (granting summary judgment on multi-party, multiple claim employment discrimination claim).
  • Lucy v. Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc. (N.D.Ill.) (granting summary judgment on FMLA claim based on employee’s fraud).
  • Lusk v. Advocate Christ Hospital (N.D. Ill.) (granting summary judgment in ADA case).
  • O’Connor v. DePaul Univ., 123 F.3d 665, 670 (7th Cir.), (affirming the granting of employer’s motion for summary judgment in age discrimination case).
  • Paulos-Johnson v. Advocate Trinity Hospital (N.D. Ill) (summary judgment granted in three person “reverse discrimination” case).
  • Pauls v. Piggyback Services (N.D. Ill.) (granting employer’s motion for summary judgment in breach of contract/breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing claim).
  • Riley v. Advocate  Lutheran General Hospital (N.D.Ill.) (granting summary judgment to employer in race and age case).
  • Robinson v. Human Rights Commission, 201 Ill. App. 3d 722, 559 N.E.2d 299 (1st Dist.) (180-day filing requirement of Illinois Human Rights Act is jurisdictional and affirming dismissal of “amended” charge alleging retaliation).
  • Rudd v. Danville Metal Stamping, 193 Ill. App. 3d 1099, 550 N.E.2d 674 (4th Dist.) (handbook claim barred as a matter of law).
  • Slovinec v. DePaul University (7th Cir.) (affirming the granting of defendant’s motion to dismiss case brought under Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).
  • Smith v. Rhodia Inc. (N.D. Ind.) (granting summary judgment for employer in Section 301 of the LMRA and ADA case)
  • Weed v. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (N.D.Ill) (granting summary judgment in age and disability case).
  • Wienke v. Haworth, Inc. (6th Cir.) (affirming the grant of summary judgment in a sex discrimination case).

Publications

  • Co-author, “The Family and Medical Leave Act:  Lost in Translation,” Gender, Race & Ethnicity in the Workplace, Praeger Perspectives
  • Editor-in-chief and Co-author, “Understanding the FMLA, “How to Comply, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Co-author, “Employment Discrimination: How to Comply,” Seyfarth Shaw at Work
  • Co-author, “Workplace Stress Claims: What is the Employer’s Responsibility?”Employee Relations Law Journal, Vol. 25, No. 2
  • Co-author, “Federal Employment Laws and Regulations: How to Comply, Employment Discrimination: How to Comply, and Chicagoland Employment Law Manual,” Apland & Associates, Inc.
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