Missouri state conference
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE
108 Austin Ave, Columbia, MO 65203-4080
(573) 443-4588 WEB ADDRESS: www.mostatenaacp.org
URGENT ACTION ALERT
CALL YOUR SENATOR TO OPPOSE SENATOR BRAD LAGER’s SB 852
DATE: March 3, 2010
TO: Concerned Parties
FROM: Mary Ratliff, President, Missouri State Conference, NAACP
NAACP OPPOSES Repeal of discrimination laws by MISSOURI senator brad lager
Call your state senator today and tell them you and the naacp oppose discrimination and that the state has an obligation to protect your civil rights – Tomorrow will be too late
The Issue:
Discrimination is a sin. We as a state passed laws to protect people, who are vulnerable to discrimination, and deter anyone, who is found by a court of law, to have discriminated.
Missouri law currently protects people – women, the old, the disabled, racial and ethnic minorities and others – when one of those traits is a contributing factor in the decision to discriminate against a person. If a person is discriminated against, they can sue the company, organization or individual that they believe discriminated against them after the state reviews those allegations and verifies them as probable. This is the same legal standard and framework okayed by the United State Supreme Court, the Missouri Supreme Court and that has been in effect in Missouri for decades. The current law is needed to combat discrimination.
AS EARLY AS TODAY, Missouri State Senator Brad Lager wants the senate to vote and approve of his bill SB 852. Lager’s bill would allow individual employees to discriminate by giving them immunity. It would allow the United States, corporations owned by the US, Indian Tribes, certain departments and agencies of the District of Columbia and private membership clubs to discriminate.
Also it would stack the law in favor of the organization or company alleged to have discriminated by instructing the jury in court cases on what they can consider, making it easier for discrimination cases to be kicked out of court on summary judgment, limiting the damages to back pay, and eliminating punitive damages for the state and all of its political subdivisions, and overturning decades of civil rights law created in our own courts.
Lager’s act removes all Missouri case law relating to exceptions to the employment at will doctrine and restricts the ability to bring retaliation claims and limits recovery under those claims as well.
TAKE ACTION NOW BY JOINING US FOR THE STATEWIDE CALL-IN DAY URGING THE SENATE TO NOT PROMOTE DISCRIMINATION IN MISSOURI – Vote against SB 852.
CALL YOUR SENATOR AT (573) 751-3766 TODAY, WEDNEDAY, MARCH 3, 2010
AND URGE THEM TO ACT NOW.
THE ACTION We Need You To Take:
Contact your state Senator TODAY and Urge Them to VOTE AGAINST LAGER’S BILL SB 852 THAT WOULD REPEAL THE LAWS THAT PROTECT ALL OF US FROM DISCRIMINATION. To contact your Senator, you may:
ΓΌ Make a Phone Call:
Call your Senator in Jefferson City by dialing the Capitol Switchboard and asking to be transferred to your Senators' offices. The Senate Secretary Phone Number is (573) 751-3766. Your Senator’s phone number is below.
(see message section, below).
The Message
· Discrimination is a sin. Missouri has laws enacted to protect its citizens from discrimination. Don’t change those laws.
· Every woman in my family has a right not to be discriminated against physically or in any other way. Older people have the same right. Minorities and the disabled have the same rights. Without the laws that we have now, the most vulnerable people in our state will be subjected to more discriminatory conduct from employers and in public accommodations.
· At a time when more hate crimes are being committed in Missouri and nationally and more claims of discrimination are being processed, Senator Brad Lager’s ideas to make it easier for people to be discriminated against are all wrong.
· On top of that, Missouri would lose more than a million dollars of federal funding meant to fund the state’s efforts to eliminate discrimination.
· We must each obey our spiritual and moral teachings that promote equality and justice. A vote for Lager’s bill would show me that you, Senator, are not supporting justice and equality.
REMEMBER TO CONTACT YOUR SENATOR TODAY!!!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT MATTER!!!
Membership is Power! Join the NAACP Today. To become an NAACP member or to sign up for e-mail legislative and press updates, visit www.naacp.org | |
If you have any questions, call Missouri State Conference President Mary Ratliff (573) 443-4588
PDF of the 95th General Assembly Senate Roster
All written correspondence may be sent to:
Senator senator's name
201 W Capitol Ave., Rm. room number
Jefferson City, MO 65101
TALKING POINTS ON SB 852 AND HB 1488
· These bills seek to amend the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) by:
o prohibiting lawsuits against the individuals responsible for sexual harassment;
o holding older workers to a higher proof standard than others, making it harder for them to prove their claims;
o making it legal for employers to fire workers because they report illegal conduct to their bosses or other company officials;
o making it harder to win a MHRA case than a federal case;
o letting private membership clubs discriminate against employees;
o making it nearly impossible for an employee fired for blowing the whistle to prove it because it will have to be the one and only reason for firing him;
o disallowing punitive damages against the State, when the State should be the model employer;
o requiring Missouri courts to follow federal, not Missouri, legal interpretations
· Employers Target These Workers to Fire
o Workers with disabilities or whose family members have disabilities
o Older workers with long years of good loyal service
o Women workers supporting families; pregnant workers; women who are assaulted and harassed for sex
o African American workers
o Workers who observe their Sabbath and dress modestly
o Workers who report illegal conduct or refuse to go along with it
· Now Big Business Wants to Scapegoat Missouri’s Workers
o Missouri’s workers are not driving businesses away – not a shred of evidence.
o Missouri’s workers are not lawsuit happy. MCHR has NOT authorized more suits in recent years.
o Missouri’s workers are NOT getting large verdicts on frivolous cases – not a single employment or whistleblower case in the top 50 verdicts in 2009.
o MISSOURI CITIZENS SERVE ON JURIES – they live, work and vote in Missouri –when they hold some bad businesses accountable, they set, and they follow, Missouri norms.
o MISSOURI EMPLOYERS AND MANAGERS WANT A FREE PASS; want the laws changed so they can avoid responsibility for their own conduct.
· The Claim that Missouri is Losing Employers Because of Employee Lawsuits is Completely False.
o Missouri’s current laws have been around for more than 50 years virtually unchanged.
o Missouri’s current laws are consistent with other states and with federal law.
o Lawsuits by employees are a tiny fraction of cases in our state courts.
o As reported by the Missouri Lawyers Weekly in February 2010, not a single verdict under the Missouri Human Rights Act or for public policy wrongful discharge was among the top 50 verdicts in Missouri in 2009.
o Out of the top 178 verdicts obtained in Missouri in 2009, only 6 (3%) were in state court based upon the MHRA or public policy wrongful discharge claims.
· MISSOURI LOSES IF THESE AMENDMENTS PASS
o These amendments will dilute the limited protections our laws offer citizens.
o These amendments will deprive the State of Missouri of federal funding of more than $1 million for EEOC and HUD.
· MISSOURI HAS OUR OWN STATE LAWS AND TRADITIONS – WE DON’T WANT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DICTATING TO MISSOURI CITIZENS.
· MISSOURI CITIZENS KNOW WHAT’S RIGHT, AND THEY SAY WHAT’S RIGHT WHEN THEY SERVE ON JURIES AND HEAR ALL THE FACTS.
The following is a list of the individuals/organizations, who testified in the Senate Hearing in Support of Brad Lager’s Bill SB 852 - Repealing the Current Law Prohibiting Discrimination and Making it Harder for the State to protect our civil rights:
Missouri Council of School Administrators
Dave Overfelt- Missouri Retailers Association (Schnuck’s Markets, Macy’s, and Missouri Grocer’s Association)
Robert Stewart (Self)- Lowenbaum Partnership (Law Firm)
Daniel O’Keefe (Self)- Brian Cave (Law Firm)
John Britton- Enterprise Holdings
Deanna Borland- Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis
Daryl Duwe- Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association
Danny Pfeifer- Emerson
Trey Davis- Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry
John Pelzer- Associated Builders and Contractors
Brad Bates- Missouri Restaurant Association
Anita Kiehne- Missouri United School Insurance Council
Ernest G. Trakas (Self)-
Tricia Workman- St. Louis RCGA
Sandy Howard- Springfield Chamber of Commerce
Brad Jones- National Federation of Independent Business- Missouri (NFIB-MO)
Bert Kimble- Cooperating School Districts of Greater Kansas City
Patrick Bonnot- Missouri Municipal League
Nathan Dampf- Associated Industries of Missouri
Bill Ray- Missouri United School Boards Association
Todd Smith- Missouri Association of Counties
