JONESBORO, Ill. (AP) — A settlement conference in the workplace retaliation lawsuit against U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth is happening at the request of the judge in the case.

The hearing was scheduled for Friday morning and it’s routine to have such conferences in civil cases. The Attorney General’s office says the Union County judge overseeing the lawsuit initiated the hearing before the case goes to trial in a few months.

The Democratic congresswoman is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk in one of November’s most competitive Senate races.

Two employees of a home for veterans say Duckworth violated state ethics laws by taking action against them when she was head of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

Duckworth’s supporters call the case a politically motivated nuisance lawsuit.