Hoskins: "Big Government Get Off My Back" Act Clears Senate Committee

As session continues to heat up before the final stretch, the Missouri House keeps working to pass new job-creating reforms. We want to avoid the last-minute confusion we often hear about in Washington DC by getting things done before the last minute. We only have another month or so of session to go so we have to keep moving. The House has truly agreed and finally passed a bill to help eliminate junk lawsuits that employees file against their employers. That’s the bill I especially want to focus on in this week’s Capitol Report.

Legislative Action

SB 188 As some background, the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) is our state’s version of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. MHRA punishes employers for discriminating against employees in protected classes including race, sex, national origin, age, or religion. The problem with MHRA is that it is enforced differently than the federal law. Basically, Missouri businesses are forced to be in compliance with two different anti-discrimination laws that say different things. They may be in compliance with one but not the other, making it very confusing.

Under the federal law, an employer can get a frivolous lawsuit thrown out of court early in the process through “summary judgment.” This greatly reduces the cost of defending against junk lawsuits, and allows employers to spend more money on creating new jobs instead of legal fees. Missouri courts have interpreted the MHRA so that employers cannot get frivolous lawsuits thrown out before trial at “summary judgment.” This means that if an employee has it out for an employer, they can file junk lawsuits and the employer is forced to spend money defending them all the way to trial.

SB 188 would amend the MHRA so that it will make it easier for Missouri businesses to be in compliance and make sure they are not breaking the law. Also, we added damage caps to MHRA cases. The larger the business an individual is suing, the more money they can collect. We want to protect small businesses that are growing and hiring new people from being wiped out by a single lawsuit. There’s no question that wronged individuals should receive compensation, however we certainly don’t want that compensation to cost several other people their jobs.

Finally, this bill adds “whistleblower” protection to the MHRA. Currently, if an employee is directed to do something at work that is illegal but refuses, it may be possible for their employer to fire them for insubordination. It is important to protect employees who refuse to engage in illegal activity at work, or who report this illegal activity to their manager or the proper authorities. SB 188 will do that.

HB 45 My bill, called the Big Government Get Off My Back Act, continues to make progress. Last Thursday, it was voted out of the Senate Ways and Means and Fiscal Oversight Committee and is now awaiting debate on the Senate floor. I will continue to keep you up to date as this bill progresses through the legislative process.

Redistricting

Both bodies of the legislature continue to work on what the new Congressional map will look like for Missouri. Although Missouri increased in population as per the 2010 Census, we didn’t grow as much as other states. As a result, Missouri loses a Congressional seat. What makes redrawing the Congressional districts so difficult is that when a line is moved in one place, it impacts several other Congressional districts. The effort is to keep the districts balanced by population but there are more issues than only population to consider. I covered this in greater detail a couple of weeks ago. One thing that is crystal clear in this is that it is a confusing process.

Today, the Missouri House amended a map in a rare Friday session to reconfigure the Congressional districts. Continue to stand by to see what the final map will be.

Visitors to the Capitol

Recent visitors that stopped by my office included a good contingent from UCM Collegiate Farm Bureau, a group of seniors touring the Capital City led by Melissa Gower, and 4^th graders that came on Amtrak from Sterling Elementary at Warrensburg. Whenever you’re in the Capitol, I hope you’ll stop by to say hello.

Ways to Keep in Contact

I consider communication with my constituents a high priority. My weekly Monday morning chat at 8:45 a.m. with Woody at KOKO Radio on AM 1450 is one of the best ways I’ve found for you to literally “hear” from me. Tune in every Monday morning at 8:45 to hear the latest concerning District 121.

Please share this report with anyone you feel would be interested in this information. As the Legislature will not be in session, it will be two weeks before my next Capitol Report. It is genuinely a privilege to serve as your state representative.