Harassment Training is the Right (and Necessary) Thing to Do
Sexual harassment claims currently are big news because prominent film makers, actors, television personalities, executives and United States legislators have been identified as serial harassers. Under pressure, some alleged harassers have confessed, while others have at least acknowledged that their actions were inappropriate. We may be witnessing a sea change in exposing harassers...
Missouri Court Rules that Gay Employee’s Sex Stereotyping Allegations Constitute Sex Discrimination Claim Under MHRA
On October 24, 2017, in Lampley v. Mo. Commission on Human Rights, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, held that sex stereotyping, including as it pertains to a gay or lesbian employee, is sex discrimination under the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). That sex stereotyping claims would be recognized under the...
EEO-1 Report Filing Requirement Update
On August 29, 2017, an Administrator of a branch of the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) initiated a review and immediate stay of EEO-1 report changes. These changes were to require employers to provide data on employees’ hours worked and wages paid. The EEO-1 report filing requirement generally applies to employers with...
Leveling the Playing Field – Missouri Governor Signs MHRA and Whistleblower Amendments
Last Friday, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens signed Missouri Senate Bill 43 (SB 43), amending the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) and codifying the requirements for a whistleblower claim under Missouri law. The bill can be found here. This bill, which will become effective on August 28, 2017, represents a significant change in certain...
Missouri Supreme Court Clarifies Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy Claim
On May 16, 2017, the Missouri Supreme Court issued an opinion in Newsome v. Kansas City, Missouri School District, No. SC95538 (Mo. banc), which clarified Missouri law by holding that on a wrongful discharge in violation of public policy claim: (1) the judge, not the jury, decides whether a legal violation occurred;...
Seventh Circuit Rules that Sexual Orientation Discrimination is Prohibited by Title VII
On April 4, 2017, in Hively v. Ivy Tech Cmty. Coll. of Indiana, No. 15-1720, the Seventh Circuit en banc (all of the judges), on rehearing of a panel decision disallowing the plaintiff’s claim, became the first federal Court of Appeals to hold that discrimination based on sexual orientation is prohibited by...
City of St. Louis Minimum Wage Ordinance
On February 28, 2017, the Missouri Supreme Court reinstated St. Louis City Ordinance 70078, available here, which requires covered employers to pay covered employees a minimum wage of $10/hour in 2017 and $11/hour starting January 1, 2018, for each hour worked while the employee is physically present in the City of St. Louis....
City of St. Louis Reproductive Health Decision Ordinance
On February 13, 2017, the attached City of St. Louis Ordinance 70459 became effective. Among other things, it prohibits employers (with six or more employees) in the City of St. Louis from discriminating or taking any adverse employment action against any applicant or employee based on their pregnancy, condition related to pregnancy...
Missouri Becomes Nation’s 28th Right to Work State
In a ceremony in Springfield, Missouri on February 6, 2017, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens signed Senate Bill 19 into law, making Missouri the 28th “Right to Work” state in the nation. The law, which will be effective August 28, 2017 (unless delayed or rejected by referendum) and will be found at R.S.Mo....
Federal Judge Blocks Implementation of DOL’s New Overtime Rule
On November 22, 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction barring implementation of the United States Department of Labor’s new overtime rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et. seq. (“FLSA”), which was to become effective on December 1, 2016.
The...