A former employee of Booz Allen Hamilton is suing the consulting firm, alleging she faced discrimination and retaliation for asking to work from home up to six to eight days a month to make her migraine attacks more bearable.

In a complaint filed Monday in the Eastern District of Virginia, lawyers for Deirdre Cosmann argued that the company had breached the Americans With Disabilities Act by denying her remote work and terminating her in April 2020 — amid a companywide layoff freeze during the pandemic.

“No employee should have been fired due to their need to occasionally telework for a disability at a time when everyone in the company was teleworking due to COVID-19,” said Lenore Garon, one of Cosmann’s lawyers, alleging the company “actively penalized and targeted Ms. Cosmann for her disability.”

A spokesperson for Booz Allen Hamilton told The Washington Post that, although the company can’t comment on pending litigation, “Booz Allen remains committed to fair and equitable treatment for all employees and operates in strict compliance with its Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy and applicable laws.”

The case illuminates the challenges employees with migraines can face in navigating the workplace, according to the American Migraine Foundation, an advocacy group.

“Migraine is a major reason for lost productivity in the workplace,” said Lawrence Newman, the chair of the foundation.

Women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from migraine attacks than...

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