Supreme Court Decision – Workers Compensation
After a year and a half, the Missouri Supreme Court finally ruled on the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1. This bill made wholesale changes in Missouri’s workers compensation program and has been credited with lowering premiums for the last couple of years. Organized labor challenged nearly every section saying that they were either unconstitutional or denied an injured worker their due process under the workers’ compensation law.
The court dismissed eight of the nine arguments brought by the Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans. Arguments in the case were heard more than a year ago.The court did respond to one of the group’s arguments, which sought a declaratory judgment on the 2005 law that narrowed the definition of the types of injuries that could be covered under workers’ comp. In its judgment, the court said the removal of certain injuries places workers outside of the workers’ comp system, and that individuals who receive those injuries can seek recovery in civil court.