Employment Law Project

Clinical Professor Randall D. Schmidt and his students operate the Employment Law Clinic (ELC), a litigation-focused clinic that represents individuals and groups of individuals in discrimination cases. The ELC has pursued three enduring goals throughout its history: improving the procedures so that employees have a fair opportunity to present their cases, attracting the private bar to employment discrimination law, and ending discrimination in the workplace.

The ELC’s history stretches back to around 1970, when it began handling employment discrimination cases in the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commission. In the 1980s, the ELC focused on representing individuals in cases pending before the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Illinois Human Rights Commission. The Clinic also engaged in legislative advocacy that led to significant procedural improvements to the Illinois Human Rights Act, culminating in a 2008 amendment giving employees the right to pursue their discrimination claims in court. From 2006 onward, the ELC expanded its work to include group representation and class actions, ultimately representing more than 1,000 employees across six class actions and recovering more than $40 million on their behalf.

Today, the ELC’'s primary focus is assisting pro se plaintiffs and appellants in federal court, with work organized across three areas:

Settlement Assistance. The ELC participates in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL) Settlement Assistance Program (SAP), a unique program that appoints attorneys to represent pro se plaintiffs in settlement conferences. Since January 2021, Professor Schmidt and his students have been appointed as Settlement Assistance Counsel in approximately 40 cases and have been able to obtain settlements in 85% of those cases. The work of Professor Schmidt and the students has been recognized with three Awards for Excellence in Pro Bono Services from the NDIL and the Federal Bar Association..

Appellate Program. Students survey the Seventh Circuit’s docket to identify cases for direct representation or amicus opportunities. They represent pro se litigants on appeal — meeting with clients, preparing briefs, and presenting oral argument — and write amicus briefs on behalf of organizations such as the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, and the Illinois Nurses Association. Since October 2018, the ELC has been involved in nearly 30 appeals across the Seventh Circuit, the Illinois Supreme Court, the Illinois Appellate Court, and the Ohio Appellate Court.

Hibbler Help Desk. Students provide procedural advice to pro se plaintiffs in federal civil cases through the Hibbler Help Desk, the first program of its kind in any federal court in the country. The ELC schedules approximately 6–8 appointments per quarter and has met with roughly 50 pro se plaintiffs since February 2024.

What Students Do

Each student is assigned to a small number of cases — typically a mix of settlement assistance and appellate work — and cases are handled in teams of two to three students. The clinic provides students with hands-on litigation experience across the full arc of a case, from initial client contact through resolution.

In settlement assistance cases, students meet with and interview clients, assess the facts and evidence, and help clients work toward a favorable settlement. They draft correspondence with opposing counsel, conduct legal research, and attend the settlement conference before the judge. Third-year students take the lead in representing the client at that conference. When a case resolves, students draft and revise the final settlement agreement.

In appellate cases, students begin by surveying the Seventh Circuit’s docket to identify cases where the ELC can submit an amicus brief. They also review and evaluate requests from individuals requesting the ELC to represent them in their appeals. When representing a client directly, students meet with the client to discuss the claims, participate in any mediation conducted by the Seventh Circuit’s Mediation Office, and prepare and file the appellate brief — with 3Ls eligible to present oral argument before the court. When writing amicus briefs, students research and argue issues of broader legal significance on behalf of organizations with a stake in the outcome. 

Across both areas, students develop skills in client counseling, case strategy, legal research, and written and oral advocacy. Research tasks span a wide range of substantive issues — including standing, pleading standards, and reasonable accommodations — drawing on case law, executive regulations, and legislative history. Students also gain familiarity with the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and the practical demands of federal court practice.

Enrollment and Prerequisites

Enrollment in the Employment Law Clinic is limited. Evidence, Pretrial Advocacy, and the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop (or equivalent courses) are highly recommended. Academic credit varies and is awarded according to the Law School's general criteria for clinical courses. Students interested in learning more should contact Professor Schmidt.

Further Reading

The following articles from the University of Chicago Law School and Law360 document some of the ELC’s work and achievements. (Note: Law360 articles require a subscription to read in full.)

Seventh Circuit Revives ADA Suit in Employment Law Clinic Victory (May 2026). Students secured a significant appellate win in Ballard v. Ameren Illinois, with a 3L student presenting oral argument before the Seventh Circuit.

Randall Schmidt Named Recipient of Pro Bono and Public Service Award (April 2026). Announcement of the clinic's 2026 Award for Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service from the NDIL.

How Class Action Litigation by the Employment Law Clinic Recovered $9.25 Million for CPS Teachers (2025). In-depth account of the decade-long class action on behalf of Black educators affected by Chicago school turnarounds.

Employment Law Clinic — Significant Achievements for 2024–25 (2025). Annual summary of settlement assistance, Hibbler Help Desk, and appellate cases.

Employment Law Clinic Takes on Appeal for Lab Tech's Discrimination Suit. Coverage of the Seventh Circuit reversal in Stepp v. Covance Central Laboratory Services.

7th Circ. Overturns JBS' Win in Worker's Color Bias Suit — Amanda Ottaway, Law360 (November 12, 2024). The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded a district court dismissal of a color discrimination suit brought by a pro se employee of Wisconsin beef processing plant JBS Green Bay, holding the claims were evaluated under too high a standard at the pleading stage. Professor Schmidt represented the appellant on appeal.

Chicago Education Board to Pay $9.2M in Race Bias Suits — Law360 (2022). Coverage of the federal court's preliminary approval of the $9.2 million class action settlement in race discrimination suits brought by Black teachers and paraprofessionals against the Chicago Board of Education.

Chicago Settles Ex-Firefighter's Harassment Claim Before Trial — Celeste Bott, Law360 (July 27, 2022). The city of Chicago reached a settlement on the first day of trial with Robert Alamo, a Latino firefighter who alleged severe racial harassment by co-workers creating a hostile work environment his supervisors failed to remedy. Professor Schmidt co-represented Alamo.

7th Circ. Says Choice-of-Law Clause Irrelevant to Wage Suit — Caleb Drickey, Law360 (August 18, 2022). The Seventh Circuit reversed a lower court ruling, holding that choice-of-law provisions in a contractor agreement could not bar Illinois delivery drivers from pursuing wage claims under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. The clinic submitted an amicus brief in the case.

Chicago Firefighter's Harassment Claim Can Move Ahead — Anne Cullen, Law360 (February 18, 2021). A federal judge ruled that Robert Alamo's hostile work environment claim against the Chicago Fire Department could proceed to trial, finding sufficient evidence of severe and pervasive racial harassment that supervisors knew about but failed to address. Professor Schmidt co-represented Alamo.

Chicago Union Reaches $3M Deal in Race Bias Suit — Alexis Shanes, Law360 (November 25, 2020). Pipefitters Association Local 597 settled a long-running class action for $3 million brought by Black workers who were systematically excluded from informal word-of-mouth job referrals and limited to a less favorable hiring system because of their race. Professor Schmidt represented the plaintiff class.

Chicago Had Options Beyond Teacher Layoffs, 7th Circ. Told — Celeste Bott, Law360 (September 15, 2020). Coverage of oral argument before the Seventh Circuit in the Chicago Teachers Union class action challenging the CPS layoff policy, with Professor Schmidt arguing that the board had viable, less discriminatory alternatives to the mass layoffs of Black educators.

Comcast Settles Techs' Race Bias Row for $7.2M — Patrick Boyle, Law360 (February 24, 2016). Comcast agreed to pay up to $7.21 million to settle a class action alleging that it discriminated against African-American technicians at a Chicago facility through unfair performance evaluations, poor working conditions, and tolerance of racist comments.

7th Circ. Revives Chicago Teachers' Class Cert. Bid — Matthew Bultman, Law360 (August 10, 2015). The Seventh Circuit unanimously reversed a district court's denial of class certification for more than 200 Black teachers and paraprofessionals terminated during Chicago's school turnaround campaigns, holding that common legal and factual questions justified class treatment. Professor Schmidt co-represented the plaintiffs.

Chicago Teachers Beat Counterclaim in Layoff Policy Suit — Law360 (2018). A federal judge dismissed a counterclaim against the plaintiff class of Black teachers and paraprofessionals in the clinic's class action challenging discriminatory layoff policies at the Chicago Board of Education.

7th Circ. Revives LabCorp Unit Tech's Retaliation Suit — Law360 (2019). The Seventh Circuit vacated summary judgment in Stepp v. Covance Central Laboratory Services, a race and gender discrimination retaliation case handled by clinic students.