A former lobbyist for an Illinois environmental organization has filed a lawsuit against her former employer for pregnancy discrimination, alleging the organization’s executive director told her not to have a baby during the legislative session and ultimately fired her when she was eight months pregnant.
The lawsuit was filed by Lisa Koerner against the Illinois Environmental Council, an advocacy group that lobbies for environmental causes. Koerner worked as the group’s government affairs director from June 2023 until she was terminated in February 2024, according to the lawsuit.
Koerner filed her lawsuit in federal court in Chicago on Jan. 31.
A spokesperson for the IEC said the allegations are false and that Koerner had been fired for “legitimate cause” that was “wholly unrelated to her pregnancy status.”
“These false allegations, filed by a disgruntled former employee, are without merit,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Our organization, and our leaders, prioritize providing a professional and respectful environment that supports our employees in their advocacy for clean water, air and energy policies across Illinois.”
The lawsuit alleges the IEC’s executive director, Jennifer Walling, made comments that showed her “antipathy toward pregnancy” both before and after Koerner announced she was pregnant.
According to the lawsuit, Koerner told Walling about her desire to raise a family when she was hired at the IEC, to which the executive director allegedly responded, “That’s fine, as long as you don’t give birth during (legislative) session.”
In October 2023, Koerner told Walling she was pregnant and was due in spring 2024, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that Walling complained about another employee or employees’ pregnancies to Koerner, including by telling her she had fired another employee due to that employee’s lack of child care plans. At one point while Koerner was pregnant, the lawsuit alleged, Walling asked Koerner about her own child care plans and then complained to the company’s HR director that she did not have any.
The IEC spokesperson said “many” of Koerner’s allegations are “demonstrably false, and there is documentation to prove as such.”
“While we feel it would be inappropriate to litigate these claims via the press, we are confident they will be shown to be irrefutably incorrect,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement, Koerner’s attorney, Aaron Maduff, said “we respectfully disagree with the IECs comments, but like hundreds of employment cases I have litigated over the last 30 years, Ms. Koerner is pursuing her legal rights by filing a meritorious complaint in the United States District Court.”
The lawsuit alleged that after learning Koerner was pregnant and planned to take a full 12 weeks of maternity leave, Walling told the organization’s HR director she wanted to terminate Koerner. The HR director responded by telling Walling there were no performance issues that would justify firing Koerner, the lawsuit alleged.
Koerner was ultimately terminated shortly after an incident in which Walling yelled at her in front of a state representative, the lawsuit alleged. The complaint alleges Walling complained that Koerner had “pregnancy brain” and fired her about a week after the incident involving the legislator, when Koerner was eight months pregnant.
The lawsuit comes after Koerner filed a discrimination charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April 2024. The agency issued Koerner a right to sue over her charge at the end of January, and she filed suit shortly thereafter.
Koerner is seeking back pay, front pay and damages. A status hearing in the case is set for April 1.