Governor vetoes business bills

Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday vetoed two bills involving employment discrimination and workers' compensation. The bills had been identified as key legislative priorities laid out by statewide chambers of commerce.

Nixon vetoed House Bill 1219, which would have revised the Missouri Human Rights Act, and Senate Bill 572, an initiative intending to reform the state's workers' compensation law, according to a news release.

HB 1219 called for the Human Rights Act to be revised so that the standard of proof in discrimination lawsuits matches the federal standard. Proponents have said the measure would reduce frivolous lawsuits.

“House Bill 1219 is nearly identical to a bill I vetoed last year because it would undermine the Missouri Human Rights Act and decades of progress on civil rights,” Nixon said in a news release. “This bill contains those same fundamental flaws."

In a statement, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Daniel Mehan called the veto of the House bill a disappointment.

"The bill would have aligned state standards for discrimination to federal standards and given employers a fair standing in Missouri courts," Mehan said in the statement. "We should not have a court system that favors one sector of people over the other."

SB 572 would have required that occupational diseases be exclusively covered under workers' compensation laws and that co-workers would not be held liable for workplace injuries or death. Nixon said the bill would downgrade the current law.

“We also should not take a step back in protecting workers who are afflicted with serious or deadly diseases as a result of their workplaces,” Nixon said in the release. “Unfortunately, this bill weakens the important workplace protections that are part of our laws and regulations.

"As is the case with the employment discrimination bill, we have to stay focused on the priorities that are truly aiding our moving forward with our economy."

Officials with the Associated Industries of Missouri said they were appalled by Nixon's decision to veto the bill.

"Gov. Nixon, through his veto of the workers' compensation bill, is in effect saying to workers across Missouri, including union workers, that they should continue to be held liable for lawsuits in workplace accidents and that they should not be entitled to quick medical attention and compensation under the workers' compensation law for occupational diseases, including repetitive motion diseases,” said Ray McCarty, president of Associated Industries of Missouri, in a separate news release. “The governor has put the interests of the trial bar, attorneys that sue employees and businesses, ahead of the needs of Missouri employees and their employers."

Both Mehan and McCarty said their organizations would be pushing forward with the issues, despite the vetoes.[[In-content Ad]]