Boeing Mechanic With Prosthetic Leg to Get Disability Bias Trial

A former Boeing Co. mechanic may be right that he was entitled to have some of his essential job duties reassigned as an accommodation for his left leg prosthesis, a St. Louis federal judge ruled.

The decision Monday by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is a reminder that the interpretation of state anti-bias laws often, but does not always, mirror federal job discrimination law.

Boeing said Douglas Dowling’s disability discrimination claims under the Missouri Human Rights Act failed because employers aren’t legally required to reassign a disabled worker’s essential functions. But that’s the standard under ...