Section 287.780

Title XVIII LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

Chapter 287

Effective - 28 Aug 1973, 2 histories, see footnote (history) 

  287.780.  Discrimination because of exercising compensation rights prohibited — civil action for damages. — No employer or agent shall discharge or in any way discriminate against any employee for exercising any of his rights under this chapter.  Any employee who has been discharged or discriminated against shall have a civil action for damages against his employer.

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(RSMo 1939 § 3725, A.L. 1973 H.B. 79)

Prior revision: 1929 § 3335

(1979) Plaintiff who alleges discharge due to filing of a worker's compensation claim has burden of proving the cause of action. Henderson v. St. Louis Housing Authority (Mo.), 605 S.W.2d 800.

(1993) The rights and remedies provided by this section are independent of, in addition to, any rights provided by a collective bargaining agreement.  Claim for retaliatory discharge under statute is not preempted by federal labor law.  Cook v. Hussmann Corp., 852 S.W.2d 342 (Mo. en banc).

(1998) Law does not abolish the "at-will" doctrine but provides a limited exception.  Crabtree v. Bugby, 967 S.W.2d 66 (Mo.banc).

(2006) Section applies to employees alleging that an employer discharged them for previously filing workers' compensation claim against a former employer.  Hayes v. Show Me Believers, Inc., 192 S.W.3d 706 (Mo.banc).

(2014) To make a submissible case for retaliatory discharge under this section, an employee must demonstrate his or her filing of a workers' compensation claim was a contributing factor to, rather than an exclusive cause of, the employer's discrimination or the employee's discharge.  Templemire v. W & M Welding, Inc., 433 S.W.3d 371 (Mo.banc).