Covington v. Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District

Covington v. Bi-State Development Agency: Court Rules Against Employee

What Happened

Covington worked for the Bi-State Development Agency and claimed she was fired because of her disability. She also alleged the employer retaliated against her for seeking disability benefits and refused to accommodate her condition.

The Court's Decision

The court sided with the employer. The judge found that Covington failed to prove her termination was actually caused by her disability or her request for benefits. Instead, the court accepted the employer's explanation: Covington was fired for excessive unexcused absences and not returning to work as required. The judge determined this reason was legitimate and not a cover-up for discrimination.

Why This Matters

This case shows that employers can terminate workers for legitimate business reasons—like missing work repeatedly—even if the employee has a disability. Simply having a disability doesn't protect you from being fired for poor attendance or policy violations. However, workers still have rights: employers must genuinely try to accommodate disabilities and cannot fire someone *solely because* of their disability status or for requesting accommodations. The key difference is whether the termination was truly about job performance or actually about the disability itself.