© 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mo. Senate panel OKs workplace discrimination bill

An interior view at the dome in the Missouri State Capitol building in Jefferson City.
(via Flickr/jennlynndesign)
An interior view at the dome in the Missouri State Capitol building in Jefferson City.

Missouri lawmakers are again trying to change the rules for workplace discrimination cases after similar legislation was vetoed last year.

A Senate committee endorsed legislation Thursday that supporters say would align Missouri laws with federal protections. The measure would require discrimination to be a "motivating factor" - instead of the current lesser standard of a contributing factor - in wrongful termination cases. That bill now goes to the full Senate.

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed similar legislation in 2011, saying it would have rolled back decades of civil rights progress.

But the legislation remains a priority for Republican legislative leaders and for the state's business organizations.