Performance and Conduct Issues and the ADA

Tracie DeFreitas, M.S.

Tracie DeFreitas is a Lead Consultant for the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the leading national source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. With more than twenty years of experience in the disability employment field, Tracie is one of JAN’s most senior consultants and has served the organization in various roles since joining the JAN team in 1994. She currently supports all specialty teams as a Lead Consultant and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Specialist, providing expert disability-related federal employment law and workplace accommodation consultation regarding a broad range of medical impairments and ADA issues. She previously served as Senior Sensory Team Consultant, providing accommodation solutions for individuals with sensory, immunology, and endocrinology related limitations. Tracie is an experienced national speaker who specializes in ADA Title I compliance and the interactive accommodation process.

As part of her tenure at JAN, Tracie collaboratively developed and launched the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE), a U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), award-winning national public awareness campaign designed to promote employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. She served as Program Manager for four years and provided leadership, accountability, and management of resources necessary to fulfill the CDE’s mission. Tracie engaged key, national disability and business stakeholder groups in the effort, including the U.S. Business Leadership Network (USBLN), Special Olympics, the National Business & Disability Council (NBDC), Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), among others. She continues to serve in an advisory role to the CDE.

Tracie is a graduate of West Virginia University (WVU) with a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.

Jeff Nowak, J.D.

Jeff Nowak serves as co-chair of Franczek Radelet’s Labor and Employment Practice Group. Named in 2012 one of the “Top 40 Attorneys under 40” in Illinois, Jeff represents private and public sector management clients in all areas of labor and employment law.

Jeff is a nationally-recognized leader in the areas of the Family and Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, including counseling employers on compliance with FMLA and ADA regulations, conducting FMLA/ADA audits and training, and successfully litigating FMLA and ADA lawsuits. Notably, he serves as author of the well-respected FMLA Insights blog (www.fmlainsights.com), which has been named by the ABA Journal as one of the top 100 legal blogs for the past three years. Due to his FMLA focus, Jeff also serves on the editorial board of the Family and Medical Leave Handbook and serves on the faculty of the National Employment Law Institute (NELI) in the areas of FMLA and ADA.

Jeff is regularly quoted by business and legal publications on employment-related issues. Most recently, Jeff authored a column published by the Chicago Tribune regarding the difficulty employers have in complying with the FMLA, and he was quoted in a Wall Street Journal Article regarding the increase in FMLA-related lawsuits.

In addition to practicing law, Jeff is an elected Village Trustee for the Village of LaGrange, Illinois. He also serves on the board of directors for Marist High School, a Catholic college-preparatory school on Chicago’s southwest side and his alma mater. A self-proclaimed baseball fanatic (and avid White Sox fan), Jeff recently took break from his part-time job umpiring high school and semi-professional baseball so that he could coach his kids’ little league and travel baseball teams.

Jeff earned his J.D. from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, and his B.A. in political science from Indiana University, where he served as student body president.