On March 7, the Missouri House truly agreed and finally passed legislation to turn back dangerous court rulings impacting the state’s workers’ compensation system. Senate Bill 572, sponsored by Sen. Tom Dempsey, would move co-employee liability and occupational disease coverage back into Missouri’s workers’ compensation system.
Both provisions are a result of recent court interpretations of statutes following changes to the law under the workers’ compensation reforms passed in 2005. This case law resulted in the expansion of liability and increased the likelihood of costly, drawn-out litigation inconsistent with the original intent of the state’s workers’ compensation statutes. Certainly, lawmakers did not intend to exclude these protections when the law was reformed in 2005.
The HBA applauds the strong support of Missouri Senate and Missouri House leadership in securing passage of this legislation. The final step to make this legislation law is for Gov. Jay Nixon to sign it. That is why we need your help. Please reach out to Gov. Nixon and urge his support of this legislation IMMEDIATELY – there’s less than a week now for him to make a decision on this. We have provided a phone number if you wish to call, or you can use the letter we have provided to send a message via email. Please tailor the letter to your specific business as appropriate.
To Call Gov. Jay Nixon: 573-751-3222
To send Gov. Jay Nixon an email letter, copy the message below and then click on this link: http://www.gov.mo.gov/constituents/. You will be taken to the governor’s email portal. Fill in the required blanks, paste your message in the message area, make edits and press “Submit”.
SAMPLE EMAIL MESSAGE
Dear Governor Nixon:
As a professional in the residential construction industry who strives each day to comply with state and federal laws related to the protection of employees, I am writing to urge you to sign Senate Bill 572 into Missouri law without delay. This legislation would reverse court rulings that have dramatically changed the intent of Missouri’s workers’ compensation statutes. Addressing this problem has been one of the top priorities of the Home Builders Association of Missouri for the past two years.
Senate Bill 572 would correct court interpretations of the law that have allowed employees to sue co-employees for workplace accidents and interpretations that workers’ compensation is not the exclusive remedy for occupational disease. Wreaking havoc on our workplaces in this way was never the intent of lawmakers when they reformed the law in 2005. Stories of Missouri employers that have been attacked by these types of lawsuits are chilling to growth and economic development.
At a time when our businesses are struggling under a weak economy, they do not need the uncertainty and enormous legal defense costs and potential liability that these errors in our workers’ compensation statute have caused.
On behalf of employers and employees in residential construction, please sign Senate Bill 572.