On February 9, 2010 the Mo Supreme Court issued three wrongful termination decisions that substantially change the law of public policy discharge in Missouri
These decisions are good in some ways and horrible in other respects
I will be updating my wrongful termination materials soon
NUTSHELL SUMMARY of these cases ——-

In order to have a public policy discharge […]

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 signed into law 1-29-09
Below I have reproduced the entire Act. But you might want to read the Act on the Library of Congress site here: (S. 181 ENR) Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Here is a brief summary of why the LLFPA was enacted:
The LLFPA was enacted […]

BOO - Missouri Court of Appeals rules Jan 2009 that the “exclusive cause” standard applies to proving a “public policy discharge” case
The case is Fleshner v. Pepose Vision Institute, where the appeals court reversed an employee’s jury verdict because the trial court did not use the “exclusive cause” standard
(We hope the Missouri Supreme Court […]

New FMLA Regulations effective January 16, 2009
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has revised and re-published the regulations governing how the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) must be administered.
According to the DOL, the new regulations have taken into account 15 years of experience with FMLA, including many court decisions.
Here’s an executive summary factsheet […]

Voting Rights for Missouri Employees - RSMo 115.639 - employers are sometimes required to give 3 paid hours off work to vote, but not always. You must request time off BEFORE election day, and meet the conditions I describe below.
Missouri employee voting rights are described in Missouri Law RSMo 115.639 . I have copied the […]

ADA employment provisions semi-fixed!!! On 9/25/08 President Bush signed S. 3406, The ADA Amendment Act of 2008
The 2008 Amendments to the ADA are effective January 1, 2009. Here are some links to more info:

Read the news report of the passage of Senate 3406. This report has a photo of President Bush signing the bill, […]

The BJC health system is mandating flu shots, and I am getting calls and emails about it. Here are my quick and dirty thoughts —-
I am sorry to have to say the following:

Assuming that BJC’s order for flu shots applies to everyone under its control, or at least to large groups rather then selected individuals, […]

Whistleblowers: On August 1, 2008, Congress sent President Bush a Consumer Product Safety bill with new whistleblower protections
I will write more about this bill later, H.R. 4040 (passed by both the House and Senate).
The law works kind of similar to the EEOC laws (discrimination laws), but the right to sue is not automatically granted.
The […]

The US and Missouri minimum wages have both changed in 2008
US Federal minimum wage increases to $6.55 on July 24, 2008, and will change again in 2009
Missouri minimum wage increased to $6.65 on January 1, 2008, and will change again in 2009
See my minimum wage article for details and links about the Federal AND Missouri […]

US Supreme Court issued two nice Retaliation-related decisions on May 27, 2008
Here’s a quick summary of these two important pro-employee retaliation-related cases, along with links to the cases:
Oh, by the way, Here’s my general article about “retaliation”, to help you appreciate how important that subject is.
In Gomez-Perez v. Potter, the Court decided, once and for […]

Judge Romines’ promotion changed the way St. Louis County Court handles non-compete cases, creating new challenges
I’ve been meaning to write about this for a long time. Sorry for the delay.
In this article, I intend to discuss some changes to the way that St. Louis County Courts handle “Equity” cases. This issue affects Non-Compete cases mostly.
I […]

Missouri Legislature attempting to stifle civil cases in St. Louis by firing 6 judges, in order to clog up the court system.
I got an email alert from the Bar Association warning about our Legislature’s plan to clog up the St. Louis civil court system. By removing a bunch of judges, cases cannot get heard, and […]

Missouri Legislature is trying to weaken Employees’ legal rights in 2008
Two bills are being considered which threaten Employees’ rights, SB 1046 and HB 1858
The two bills are designed to make it more difficult for employees to win cases.
SB 1046 would weaken our whistleblower protections. In one part, it would take the “Exclusivity” standard of proof […]

FMLA news: The FMLA law is updated in 2008 to expand coverage related to care for military members, and the Dept of Labor is proposing changes to FMLA regulations
FYI - See also my main FMLA article.

See my separate article on FMLA 26 week Servicemember family leave.
ISSUE 1 - Effective January 28, 2008, FMLA now […]

FMLA and Returning to Work on Light Duty
See also my main FMLA article.

Big WARNING: You might not be eligible for FMLA protection ——- To be eligible for FMLA protection, all of the following must apply:

You have to work for a large employer of 50 or more people within 75 miles of your jobsite
and you […]

On October 15, 2007, we moved the office.
See the bottom of each page of the website for the new contact info.
The Directions and Virtual Tour pages have been updated. Check them out.
The old phone number will continue to work for a long time.
I regret any inconvenience for those of you who are accustomed to coming […]

Federal Minimum Wage
Federal minimum wage increases to $7.25 effective July 24, 2009
From July 24, 2008 thru July 23, 2009, the Federal minimum wage was $6.55
From July 24, 2007 to July 23, 2008, the Federal minimum wage was $5.85
Here is the Federal Dept of Labor’s Q and A page about the Federal minimum wage
NOTE: Missouri […]

Minimum Wage Info Page - Federal AND Missouri - they differ
FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE
Federal minimum wage increases to $6.55 effective July 24, 2008, and will increase to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.
From July 24, 2007 to July 23, 2008, the Federal minimum wage was $5.85
Here is the Federal Dept of Labor’s Q and A page about […]

Missouri has a decent minimum wage law now. Back in 2006, Missouri voters approved a progressive Missouri minimum wage law, requiring that the wage be adjusted as needed.
Missouri Minimum wage history:

Before the November 2006 election —- $5.15.
2007 - $6.50, due to the election of November 2006.
2008 - $6.65, after the required calculation […]

In 2005 Missouri passed a major “tort reform” law, HB 393. Here’s a little bit about that law and its effect on employment law.
HB 393 was not a major overhaul of employment law, so I didn’t bother to write about it. But thanks to some notes I’ve received from readers of this website, […]