• 213.010. Definitions.
• 213.055. Unlawful employment practices.
• 213.070. Additional unlawful discriminatory practices.
• 213.075.  Filing of complaints.
• 213.101. Jury instructions.
• 213.111.  Right to sue; injunctions; jury trial; damages.

Whistleblower’s Protection Act.  285.575

Equal Pay Law

• 290.400. Definitions.
• 290.410. Employer not to pay female lower wage.
• 290.420. Female may register complaint.
• 290.440. Female may recover wages, when--burden of proof.

• 290.145. Discrimination for use of lawful products; alcohol, tobacco.

• 209.162. Disability Discrimination
• 191.863. Accessibility of information technology for individuals with disabilities

• 191.665 AIDS Discrimination

• 188.105 Discrimination against those participating in abortions.

• 41.730. Militia; Prohibited discrimination.

Missouri Employment Discrimination Law

Discrimination by employers is generally prohibited by the following sections of the Missouri Revised Statutues.

Missouri Human Rights Act

Definitions.
213.010.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall mean:

(1) "Age", an age of forty or more years but less than seventy years, except that it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to require the compulsory retirement of any person who has attained the age of sixty-five and who, for the two-year period immediately before retirement, is employed in a bona fide executive or high policy-making position, if such person is entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit from a pension, profit sharing, savings or deferred compensation plan, or any combination of such plans, of the employer, which equals, in the aggregate, at least forty-four thousand dollars;

(2) "Because" or "because of ", as it relates to the adverse decision or action, the protected criterion was the motivating factor;

(3) "Commission", the Missouri commission on human rights;

(4) "Complainant", a person who has filed a complaint with the commission alleging that another person has engaged in a prohibited discriminatory practice;

(5) "Disability", a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of a person's major life activities, being regarded as having such an impairment, or a record of having such an impairment, which with or without reasonable accommodation does not interfere with performing the job, utilizing the place of public accommodation, or occupying the dwelling in question. For purposes of this chapter, the term "disability" does not include current, illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance as such term is defined by section 195.010, RSMo; however, a person may be considered to have a disability if that person:

(a) Has successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program and is no longer engaging in the illegal use of, and is not currently addicted to, a controlled substance or has otherwise been rehabilitated successfully and is no longer engaging in such use and is not currently addicted;

(b) Is participating in a supervised rehabilitation program and is no longer engaging in illegal use of controlled substances; or

(c) Is erroneously regarded as currently illegally using, or being addicted to, a controlled substance;

(6) "Discrimination", conduct proscribed herein, taken because of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, or age as it relates to employment, disability, or familial status as it relates to housing;

(7) "Dwelling", any building, structure or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families, and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such building, structure or portion thereof;

(8)  "Employer", a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has six or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and shall include the state, or any political or civil subdivision thereof, or any person employing six or more persons within the state but does not include corporations and associations owned or operated by religious or sectarian organizations. "Employer" shall not include:

(a) The United States;

(b) A corporation wholly owned by the government of the United States;

(c) An individual employed by an employer;

(d) An Indian tribe;

(e) Any department or agency of the District of Columbia subject by statute to procedures of the competitive service, as defined in 5 U.S.C. Section 2101; or

(f) A bona fide private membership club, other than a labor organization, that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. Section 60 501(c);

(9) "Employment agency" includes any person or agency, public or private, regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer and includes any person acting in the interest of such a person;

(10) "Executive director", the executive director of the Missouri commission on human rights;

(11) "Familial status", one or more individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen years being domiciled with:

(a) A parent or another person having legal custody of such individual; or

(b) The designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the written permission of such parent or other person. The protections afforded against discrimination because of familial status shall apply to any person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years;

(12) "Human rights fund", a fund established to receive civil penalties as required by federal regulations and as set forth by subdivision (2) of subsection 11 of section 213.075, and which will be disbursed to offset additional expenses related to compliance with the Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations;

(13) "Labor organization" includes any organization which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or for other mutual aid or protection in relation to employment;

(14) "Local commissions", any commission or agency established prior to August 13, 1986, by an ordinance or order adopted by the governing body of any city, constitutional charter city, town, village, or county;

(15) "Person" includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, organizations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint stock companies, trusts, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, fiduciaries, or other organized groups of persons;

(16) "Places of public accommodation", all places or businesses offering or holding out to the general public, goods, services, privileges, facilities, advantages or accommodations for the peace, comfort, health, welfare and safety of the general public or such public places providing food, shelter, recreation and amusement, including, but not limited to:

(a) Any inn, hotel, motel, or other establishment which provides lodging to transient guests, other than an establishment located within a building which contains not more than five rooms for rent or hire and which is actually occupied by the proprietor of such establishment as his residence;

(b) Any restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain, or other facility principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises, including, but not limited to, any such facility located on the premises of any retail establishment;

(c) Any gasoline station, including all facilities located on the premises of such gasoline station and made available to the patrons thereof;

(d) Any motion picture house, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment;

(e) Any public facility owned, operated, or managed by or on behalf of this state or any agency or subdivision thereof, or any public corporation; and any such facility supported in whole or in part by public funds;

(f) Any establishment which is physically located within the premises of any establishment otherwise covered by this section or within the premises of which is physically located any such covered establishment, and which holds itself out as serving patrons of such covered establishment;

(17) "Rent" includes to lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant for consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant;

(18) "Respondent", a person who is alleged to have engaged in a prohibited discriminatory practice in a complaint filed with the commission;

(19) "The motivating factor", the employee's protected classification actually played a role in the adverse action or decision and had a determinative influence on the adverse decision or action;

(20) "Unlawful discriminatory practice", any act that is unlawful under this chapter.

Unlawful employment practices.
213.055.

1. It shall be an unlawful employment practice:

(1) For an employer, because of the race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability of any individual:

(a) To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability;

(b) To limit, segregate, or classify his employees or his employment applicants in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability;

(2) For a labor organization to exclude or to expel from its membership any individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or any individual employed by an employer because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability of any individual; or to limit, segregate, or classify its membership, or to classify or fail or refuse to refer for employment any individual, in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities, or would limit such employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee or as an applicant for employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability; or for any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs to discriminate against any individual because of his race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training;

(3) For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application for employment or to make any inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination, because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual because of his or her race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age as it relates to employment, or disability, or to classify or refer for employment any individual because of his or her race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to apply different standards of compensation, or different terms, conditions or privileges of employment pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, or a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, provided that such differences or such systems are not the result of an intention or a design to discriminate, and are not used to discriminate, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age or disability, nor shall it be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to give and to act upon the results of any professionally developed ability test, provided that such test, its administration, or action upon the results thereof, is not designed, intended or used to discriminate because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability.

3. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be interpreted to require any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee subject to this chapter to grant preferential treatment to any individual or to any group because of the race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability of such individual or group on account of an imbalance which may exist with respect to the total number or percentage of persons of any race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability employed by any employer, referred or classified for employment by any employment agency or labor organization, admitted to membership or classified by any labor organization, or admitted to or employed in any apprenticeship or other training program, in comparison with the total number or percentage of persons of such race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability in any community, state, section, or other area, or in the available workforce in any community, state, section, or other area.

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for the state or any political subdivision of the state to comply with the provisions of 29 U.S.C. 623 relating to employment as firefighters or law enforcement officers.

Additional unlawful discriminatory practices.
213.070.

1. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or place of public accommodation:

(1) To aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the commission of acts prohibited under this chapter or to attempt to do so;

(2) To retaliate or discriminate in any manner against any other person because such person has opposed any practice prohibited by this chapter or because such person has filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any investigation, proceeding or hearing conducted pursuant to this chapter;

(3) For the state or any political subdivision of this state to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, as it relates to employment, disability, or familial status as it relates to housing; or

(4) To discriminate in any manner against any other person because of such person's association with any person protected by this chapter.

2. This chapter, in addition to chapter 285 and chapter 287, shall provide the exclusive remedy for any and all claims for injury or damages arising out of an employment relationship.

Complaints to commission, how filed, when--filing with federal agencies, effect--duties of executive director--respondents--hearing, notice, procedure--attorney general to represent commission--appeal, discovery--effect of orders of commission.
213.075.

1.   As a jurisdictional condition precedent to filing a civil action under this chapter, any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice shall make, sign and file with the commission a verified complaint in writing, within one hundred eighty days of the alleged act of discrimination, which shall state the name and address of the employer, employment agency, labor organization, or place of public accommodation alleged to have committed the unlawful discriminatory practice and which shall set forth the particulars thereof and such other information as may be required by the commission. The complainant's agent, attorney or the attorney general may, in like manner, make, sign and file such complaint. The failure to timely file a complaint with the commission shall deprive the commission of jurisdiction to investigate the complaint. The commission shall make a determination as to its jurisdiction with respect to all complaints. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, if a complaint is not filed with the commission within one hundred eighty days of the alleged act of discrimination, the commission shall lack jurisdiction to take any action on such a complaint other than to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. The failure to timely file a complaint with the commission may be raised as a complete defense by a respondent or defendant at any time, either during the administrative proceedings before the commission, or in subsequent litigation, regardless of whether the commission has issued the person claiming to be aggrieved a letter indicating his or her right to bring a civil action and regardless of whether the employer asserted the defense before the commission.

2. Any complaint which is filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or other federal agencies with which the commission has a work-sharing or deferral agreement, or with a local commission which has been certified as substantially equivalent by the commission, shall be deemed filed with the commission on the date that such complaint is received by such federal agency or local commission. A copy of all complaints filed with a local commission with the authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter is to be forwarded to the commission within seven days of the filing thereof with such local commission. If a local commission has jurisdiction to hear a complaint filed with the commission, such complaint shall be deemed to have been filed with the local commission on the date on which such complaint was filed with the commission. The commission shall, within seven days of the receipt of a complaint which a local commission has jurisdiction to hear, forward a copy thereof to such local commission.

3. After the filing of any complaint, the executive director shall, with the assistance of the commission's staff, promptly investigate the complaint, and if the director determines after the investigation that probable cause exists for crediting the allegations of the complaint, the executive director shall immediately endeavor to eliminate the unlawful discriminatory practice complained of by conference, conciliation and persuasion, and shall report the results to the commission. The investigation, determination of probable cause and conciliation shall be conducted according to such rules, regulations and guidelines as the commission shall prescribe.

4. A person who is not named as a respondent in a complaint, but who is identified as a respondent in the course of investigation, may be joined as an additional or substitute respondent upon written notice, pursuant to such rules, regulations, and guidelines as the commission shall prescribe. Such notice, in addition to complying with the requirements of such rules, regulations, and guidelines, shall also state the reason why the person to whom the notice is addressed has been joined as a party.

5. In case of failure to eliminate such discriminatory practice as found in the investigation, if in the judgment of the chairperson of the commission circumstances so warrant, there shall be issued and served in the name of the commission, a written notice, together with a copy of the complaint, as it may have been amended, requiring the person named in the complaint, hereinafter referred to as "respondent", to answer the charges of the complaint at a hearing, at a time and place to be specified in the notice, before a panel of at least three members of the commission sitting as the commission or before a hearing examiner licensed to practice law in this state who shall be appointed by the executive director and approved by the commission. The place of the hearing shall be in the office of the commission or such other place designated by it, except that if the respondent so requests, in writing, the hearing shall be held in the county of such person's residence or business location at the time of the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice. A copy of the notice shall also be served on the complainants.

6. In all cases where a written notice of hearing has been issued and a party has not elected the option to proceed in circuit court as set forth in section 213.076, the procedures set forth for a hearing shall apply.

7. The commission shall be a party to the action and shall be represented before the panel or the hearing examiner by the office of the attorney general or, when so delegated by the attorney general, a staff attorney of the commission. Neither the hearing examiner nor any member of the panel shall have participated in the investigation of the complaint. Evidence concerning endeavors at conciliation shall be excluded.

8. The respondent may file a written verified answer to the complaint and appear at the hearing in person or otherwise with or without counsel, and submit testimony. At the discretion of the hearing examiner or the panel, the complainant may be allowed to intervene, thereby becoming a party to the action with the right to present testimony in person or by counsel, provided the complainant at all times shall be treated as a party for the purpose of discovery and the taking of depositions. The commission or complainant intervenor shall have the power to reasonably and fairly amend any complaint, and the respondent shall have like power to amend any answer. The testimony taken at the hearing shall be under oath and be transcribed.

9. In any contested case before the commission, any party may take and use written interrogatories, requests for production of documents and other materials, and requests for admissions, and all other forms of discovery authorized by rules of civil procedure in the same manner, upon, and under the same conditions, and upon the same notice, as is or may hereafter be provided for with respect to the taking and using of written interrogatories, requests for production of documents and other materials, and requests for admissions, and all other forms of discovery authorized by rules of civil procedure in civil actions in the circuit court. The panel or hearing examiner shall have the authority to impose sanctions in the same manner as set forth in the rules of civil procedure.

10. The hearing shall be conducted in the manner provided by chapter 536, RSMo.

11. When the case is heard by a panel of the commission, the chairperson of the commission shall select the hearing panel and the presiding officer. The presiding officer shall have full authority to call and examine witnesses, admit or exclude evidence and rule upon all motions and objections. The panel shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of law, and if, upon all the evidence at the hearing, the panel finds:

(1) That a respondent has engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice as defined in this chapter, the commission shall issue and cause to be served on the respondent an order requiring the respondent to cease and desist from the unlawful discriminatory practice. The order shall require the respondent to take such affirmative action, as in the panel's judgment will implement the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, payment of back pay; hiring; reinstatement or upgrading; restoration to membership in any respondent labor organization; the extension of full, equal and unsegregated housing; the extension of full, equal and unsegregated public accommodations; extension of a commercial real estate loan or other financial assistance; extension or restoration of membership or participation in any multiple listing service or other real estate service organization or facility; payment of actual damages; and the submission of a report of the manner of compliance;

(2) That a respondent has engaged or is about to engage in a violation of section 213.040, 213.045, 213.050, or 213.070, to the extent that the alleged violation of section 213.070 relates to or involves a violation of one or more of such other sections or relates to or involves the encouraging, aiding, or abetting of a violation of such other sections, the commission may, in addition to the relief provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection*, assess a civil penalty against the respondent, for purposes of vindicating the public interest:

(a) In an amount not exceeding two thousand dollars if the respondent has not been adjudged to have violated one or more of the sections enumerated in subdivision (2) of this subsection within five years of the date of the filing of the complaint;

(b) In an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars if the respondent has been adjudged to have committed one violation of the sections enumerated in subdivision (2) of this subsection within five years of the date on which the complaint is filed;

(c) In an amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars if the respondent has been adjudged to have committed two or more prior violations of the sections enumerated in subdivision (2) of this subsection within seven years of the date on which the complaint is filed. All civil penalties set forth in this subsection shall be paid to the human rights fund.

12. If, upon all the evidence, the panel finds that a respondent has not engaged in any unlawful discriminatory practice, the panel shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall issue and cause to be served on the complainant and respondent an order dismissing the complaint.

13. When the case is heard by a hearing examiner, the examiner shall have all powers described in subdivision (8) of section 213.030 and subsection 11 of this section, for the purpose of the hearing. The hearing examiner shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall recommend to the commission an order granting such relief as provided in subsection 11 of this section or dismissing the complaint as to the respondent as provided in subsection 12 of this section, in accordance with such findings.

14. A panel of at least three members of the commission, sitting as the commission, shall review the record, findings and recommended order of the hearing examiner. The panel shall thereafter accept or amend the recommended order which shall become the order of the commission. All orders shall be served on the complainant and respondent, and copies shall be delivered to the attorney general and such other public officers as the commission deems proper.

15. No order of the commission issued pursuant to this section shall affect any contract, sale, encumbrance or lease consummated before the issuance of such order and involving a bona fide purchaser without actual notice of the charge filed pursuant to this section.

16. Any person aggrieved by an order of the commission may appeal as provided in chapter 536, RSMo.

213.101. Jury instructions.

1. The provisions of this chapter shall be construed to accomplish the purposes thereof and any law inconsistent with any provision of this chapter shall not apply. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be deemed to repeal any of the provisions of any law of this state relating to discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age, disability, or familial status.

2. The general assembly hereby expressly abrogates the case of McBryde v. Ritenour School District, 207 S.W.3d 162 (Mo.App. E.D. 2006), and its progeny as it relates to the necessity and appropriateness of the issuance of a business judgment instruction. In all civil actions brought under this chapter, a jury shall be given an instruction expressing the business judgment rule.

3. If an employer in a case brought under this chapter files a motion pursuant to rule 74.04 of the Missouri rules of civil procedure, the court shall consider the burden-shifting analysis of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973), and its progeny to be highly persuasive for analysis in cases not involving direct evidence of discrimination.

4. The general assembly hereby expressly abrogates by this statute the cases of Daugherty v. City of Maryland Heights, 231 S.W.3d 814 (Mo. 2007) and its progeny as they relate to the contributing factor standard and abandonment of the burden-shifting framework established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973).

5. The general assembly hereby expressly abrogates by this statute the holding in Hurst v. Kansas City Mo. School District, 437 S.W.3d 327 (Mo.App. W.D. 2014), that Missouri Approved Instruction 19.01 may be applied to actions brought pursuant to this chapter, and the holding in Thomas v. McKeever's Enterprises, Inc., 388 S.W.3d 206 (Mo.App. W.D. 2012), that juries shall not be instructed that plaintiffs bear the burden of establishing "but for" causation in actions brought pursuant to this chapter.

6. The general assembly hereby abrogates all Missouri approved jury instructions specifically addressing civil actions brought under this chapter which were in effect prior to August 28, 2017.

213.111.  Right to sue; injunctions; jury trial; damages.

1. If, after one hundred eighty days from the filing of a complaint alleging an unlawful discriminatory practice pursuant to section 213.055, 213.065 or 213.070 to the extent that the alleged violation of section 213.070 relates to or involves a violation of section 213.055 or 213.065, or subdivision (3) of section 213.070 as it relates to employment and public accommodations, the commission has not completed its administrative processing and the person aggrieved so requests in writing, the commission shall issue to the person claiming to be aggrieved a letter indicating his or her right to bring a civil action within ninety days of such notice against the respondent named in the complaint. If, after the filing of a complaint pursuant to sections 213.040, 213.045, 213.050 and 213.070, to the extent that the alleged violation of section 213.070 relates to or involves a violation of sections 213.040, 213.045 and 213.050, or subdivision (3) of section 213.070 as it relates to housing, and the person aggrieved so requests in writing, the commission shall issue to the person claiming to be aggrieved a letter indicating his or her right to bring a civil action within ninety days of such notice against the respondent named in the complaint. The commission may not at any other time or for any other reason issue a letter indicating a complainant's right to bring a civil action. Such an action may be brought in any circuit court in any county in which the unlawful discriminatory practice is alleged to have been committed, either before a circuit or associate circuit judge. Upon issuance of this notice, the commission shall terminate all proceedings relating to the complaint. No person may file or reinstate a complaint with the commission after the issuance of a notice under this section relating to the same practice or act. Any action brought in court under this section shall be filed within ninety days from the date of the commission's notification letter to the individual but no later than two years after the alleged cause occurred or its reasonable discovery by the alleged injured party.

2. The court may grant as relief, as it deems appropriate, any permanent or temporary injunction, temporary restraining order, or other order, and may award to the plaintiff actual and punitive damages, and may award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party, other than a state agency or commission or a local commission; except that, a prevailing respondent may be awarded reasonable attorney fees only upon a showing that the case was without foundation.

3. Any party to any action initiated under this section has a right to a trial by jury.

4. The sum of the amount of actual damages, including damages for future pecuniary losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses, and punitive damages awarded under this section shall not exceed for each complaining party:

(1) Actual back pay and interest on back pay; and

(2) (a) In the case of a respondent who has more than five and fewer than one hundred one employees in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, fifty thousand dollars;

(b) In the case of a respondent who has more than one hundred and fewer than two hundred one employees in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, one hundred thousand dollars;

(c) In the case of a respondent who has more than two hundred and fewer than five hundred one employees in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, two hundred thousand dollars; or

(d) In the case of a respondent who has more than five hundred employees in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, five hundred thousand dollars.

5. In any employment-related civil action brought under this chapter, the plaintiff shall bear the burden of proving the alleged unlawful decision or action was made or taken because of his or her protected classification and was the direct proximate cause of the claimed damages.

285.575.  Whistleblower’s Protection Act.

1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Whistleblower's Protection Act".

2. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:

(1) "Because" or "because of", as it relates to the adverse decision or action, the person's status as a protected person was the motivating factor;

(2) "Employer", an entity that has six or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. "Employer" shall not include the state of Missouri or its agencies, instrumentalities, or political subdivisions, including but not limited to any public institution of higher education, a corporation wholly owned by the state of Missouri, an individual employed by an employer, or corporations and associations owned or operated by religious or sectarian organizations;

(3) "Proper authorities", a governmental or law enforcement agency, an officer of an employee's employer, the employee's supervisor employed by the employer, or the employee's human resources representative employed by the employer;

(4) "Protected person", an employee of an employer who has reported to the proper authorities an unlawful act of his or her employer; an employee of an employer who reports to his or her employer serious misconduct of the employer that violates a clear mandate of public policy as articulated in a constitutional provision, statute, or regulation promulgated under statute; or an employee of an employer who has refused to carry out a directive issued by his or her employer that if completed would be a violation of the law. An employee of an employer is not a "protected person" if:

(a) The employee is a supervisory, managerial, or executive employee or an officer of his or her employer and the unlawful act or serious misconduct reported concerns matters upon which the employee is employed to report or provide professional opinion; or

(b) The proper authority or person to whom the employee makes his or her report is the person whom the employee claims to have committed the unlawful act or violation of a clear mandate of public policy;

(5) "The motivating factor", the employee's protected classification actually played a role in the adverse decision or action and had a determinative influence on the adverse decision or action.

3. This section is intended to codify the existing common law exceptions to the at-will employment doctrine and to limit their future expansion by the courts. This section, in addition to chapter 213 and chapter 287, shall provide the exclusive remedy for any and all claims of unlawful employment practices.

4. It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discharge an individual defined as a protected person in this section because of that person's status as a protected person.

5. A protected person aggrieved by a violation of this section shall have a private right of action for actual damages for violations of this section but not for punitive damages. However, if a private right of action for damages exists under another statutory or regulatory scheme, whether under state or federal law, no private right of action shall exist under this statute.

6. Any party to any action initiated under this section may demand a trial by jury.

7. A protected person aggrieved by a violation of this section shall have a private right of action that may be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction. The only remedies available in such an action shall be:

(1) Back pay;

(2) Reimbursement of medical bills directly related to a violation of this section; and

(3) Additionally, if a protected person proves, by clear and convincing evidence, that the conduct of the employer was outrageous because of the employer's evil motive or reckless indifference to the rights of others, then, such person may receive double the amount awarded under subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, as liquidated damages. In applying this subdivision, the provisions of section 510.263 shall be applied as though liquidated damages were punitive damages and as though the amounts referenced in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection were compensatory damages.

8. The court, in addition to the damages set forth in subsection 7 of this section, may award the prevailing party court costs and reasonable attorney fees; except that a prevailing respondent may be awarded reasonable attorney fees only upon a showing that the case was without foundation.

Definitions.
290.400.

As used in sections 290.400 to 290.450 the following words have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Commission", the labor and industrial relations commission of Missouri;

(2) "Employee", every woman or man in receipt of or entitled to compensation for labor performed for any employer;

(3) "Employer", every person, firm, corporation, agent, manager, representative, contractor, subcontractor, principal or other person having control or direction of any woman or man employed at any labor, or responsible directly or indirectly for the wages of another;

(4) "Female", a woman of eighteen years or over;

(5) "Wage rates" or "wages", any compensation for labor measured by time, piece, or otherwise.

Employer not to pay female lower wage.
290.410.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no employer shall pay any female in his employ at wage rates less than the wage rates paid to male employees in the same establishment for the same quantity and quality of the same classification of work, provided that nothing herein shall prohibit a variation of rates of pay for male and female employees engaged in the same classification of work based upon a difference in seniority, length of service, ability, skill, difference in duties or services performed, difference in the shift or time of day worked, hours of work, or restrictions or prohibitions on lifting or moving objects in excess of specified weight, or other reasonable differentiation, or factors other than sex, when exercised in good faith.

Female may register complaint.
290.420.

Any affected female employee may register with the commission a complaint that the wages paid to her are less than the wages to which she is entitled under sections 290.400 to 290.450.

Female may recover wages, when--burden of proof.
290.440.

1. Any employer who violates section 290.410 is liable to the female employee affected in the amount of the wages of which the female employee is deprived by reason of the violation.

2. Any female employee receiving less than the wage to which she is entitled under sections 290.400 to 290.450 may recover in a civil action the balance of the wages, together with the costs of suit, notwithstanding any agreement to work for a lesser wage.

3. The burden of proof shall be upon the person bringing the claim to establish that the differentiation in rate of pay is based upon the factor of sex and not upon other differences or factors.

Actions to be instituted in circuit court--limitations.
290.450.

Any action based upon or arising under sections 290.400 to 290.450 shall be instituted in the circuit court within six months after the date of the alleged violation, but in no event shall any employer be liable for any pay due under sections 290.400 to 290.450 for more than thirty days prior to receipt by the employer of written notice of claim thereof from the female employee.

Discrimination for use of lawful products.

290.145.

It shall be an improper employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, any individual, or to otherwise disadvantage any individual, with respect to compensation, terms or condition of employment because the individual uses lawful alcohol or tobacco products off the premises of the employer during hours such individual is not working for employer, unless such use interferes with the duties and performance of the employee, the employee's coworkers, or the overall operation of the employer's business; except that, nothing in this section shall prohibit an employer from providing or contracting for health insurance benefits at a reduced premium rate for employees who do not smoke or use tobacco products. Religious organizations and church-operated institutions, and not for profit organizations whose principal business is health care promotion shall be exempt from the provisions of this section. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to create a cause of action for injunctive relief, damages or other relief.

Disability-Interference with aids/appliances.

209.162.

It is an unlawful employment practice for any employer to discriminate against any person with a visual, aural or physical disability by interfering, directly or indirectly, with the use of an aid or appliance, including a guide dog, hearing dog or service dog by such person. Any person aggrieved by a violation of this section may make a verified complaint to the Missouri commission on human rights pursuant to the provisions of section 213.075, RSMo.

Accessibility of information technology for individuals with disabilities
191.863.

duties of council and office of information technology

1. The council shall work in conjunction with the office of information technology to assure state compliance with the provisions of Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 regarding accessibility of information technology for individuals with disabilities.

2. When developing, procuring, maintaining or using information technology, or when administering contracts or grants that include the procurement, development, or upgrading of information technology, each state department or agency shall ensure, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the department or agency, that the information technology allows employees, program participants and members of the general public access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access by individuals without disabilities.

3. To assure accessibility, the council and the office of information technology shall:

(1) Adopt accessibility standards to be used by each state department or agency in the procurement of information technology, and in the development and implementation of custom-designed information technology systems, web sites and other emerging information technology systems;

(2) Establish and implement a review procedure to be used to evaluate the accessibility of custom-designed information technology systems proposed by a state department or agency prior to expenditure of state funds;

(3) Review and evaluate accessibility of information technology commonly purchased by state departments and agencies, and provide accessibility reports on such products to those responsible for purchasing decisions;

(4) Provide training and technical assistance for state departments and agencies to assure procurement of information technology that meets adopted accessibility standards;

(5) Involve individuals with disabilities in accessibility reviews of information technology and in the delivery of training and technical assistance;

(6) Establish complaint procedures, consistent with Section 508 of the Workforce Development Act of 1998 to be used by an individual with a disability who alleges that a state department of agency fails to comply with provisions of this section.

AIDS discrimination.

191.665.

1. Provisions of chapter 213, RSMo, shall apply to individuals with HIV infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related complex; provided that such protection shall not include an individual who has a currently contagious disease or infection and who, by reason of such disease or infection, would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or who, by reason of the currently contagious disease or infection, is unable to perform the duties of their employment.

2. Subsection 1 of this section shall not be construed to mean that any action taken by the Missouri commission on human rights prior to June 1, 1988, concerning discrimination against any individual on the basis that such individual has HIV infection or is perceived to have HIV infection to be an improper exercise of authority by the commission.

Participation in Abortion.

188.105.

1. It shall be unlawful: (1) For an employer:

(a) To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his or her compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's refusal to participate in abortion;

(b) To limit, segregate, or classify his, her, or its employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his or her status as an employee, because of such individual's refusal to participate in abortion;

(c) To discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because he or she has opposed any practices forbidden under sections 188.100 to 188.120 or because he or she has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any legal proceeding under sections 188.100 to 188.120;

(2) For any person, whether an employer or employee, or not, to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under sections 188.100 to 188.120, or to attempt to do so.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of sections 188.100 to 188.120, the acts proscribed in subsection 1 of this section shall not be unlawful if there can be demonstrated an inability to reasonably accommodate an individual's refusal to participate in abortion without undue hardship on the conduct of that particular business or enterprise, or in those certain instances where participation in abortion is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise.

3. Nothing contained in sections 188.100 to 188.120 shall be interpreted to require any employer to grant preferential treatment to any individual because of such individual's refusal to participate in abortion.

Discrimination Against Military Service Personnel

Sec. 41.730. [Militia; Prohibited discrimination].

1. No person shall discriminate against any member of the organized militia or of the armed forces of the United States because of his membership therein.

2. No person shall prohibit or refuse entrance to any member of the organized militia of this state or of the armed forces of the United States into any public entertainment or place of amusement because such member is wearing the uniform of the organization to which he belongs.

3. No employer or officer or agent of any corporation, company or firm, or other person, shall discharge any person from employment because of being a member of the organized militia of this state or hinder or prevent him from performing any militia service he may be called upon to perform by proper authority or dissuade any person from enlistment in the organized militia by threat or injury to him in respect to his employment, trade or business, in case of his enlistment. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.