Legislator Look Up and tell the same thing to your house representative in case they failed to vote the way you wanted them to - against HCS 320.
Opposes HCS HB 320 on employment discrimination and whistleblower retaliation. The current version does not address our primary concerns nor the concerns expressed by the Governor in his veto message on HB 1219 (2012).
We oppose this bill because, among other reasons, the current version contains the following provisions:
- requires the discrimination to be the motivating factor in the adverse employment decision
- eliminates the ability to sue the individual bad actor
- caps noneconomic damages at $500,000 or 5 times the amount of economic damages in both MHRA and whistleblower cases
- eliminates punitive damages for political subdivisions
- eliminates attorneys fees in MHRA cases
- eliminates protections for whistleblowers if the act being reported never occurred (no protection for reporting planned acts)
HCS HB 320 is a step backward in preventing discrimination against employees for religion, race, gender, age, ethnicity, disability or national origin. This does not make Missouri's Human Rights Act mirror the Federal law-- it picks the parts of Federal and State laws that allow for the most discrimination and make them the law of Missouri.
HCS HB 320 does not protect whistleblowers. This bill makes it harder for them to protect themselves against the retaliation of the bad actors who employ them. It is a bad idea for Missouri to discourage whistleblowing by reducing the protections they enjoy under the current system.
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