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Missouri Voters Overwhelmingly Reject "Right-to-Work" Law

While we regularly report to our readers on significant case law developments in the labor and employment field, the most dramatic developments in Missouri, over the past year, have played out in the legislative arena.

Last year, with a Republican governor and Republican-majority legislature, two major pieces of labor and employment law legislation were passed. One enacted major changes in the Missouri Human Rights Act, revising its terms to largely parallel those of their equivalent federal anti-discrimination statutes. (Over the years, Missouri courts had held that the MHRA had considerably broader reach than federal statutes like Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA.) The other was the enactment of a right-to-work law that was signed by former Governor Greitens, which would have made Missouri the 28th right-to-work state. The latter result was short-lived, as union supporters gathered enough signatures to keep it from going into effect pending the results of a statewide referendum.

The rejection of so-called “Proposition A” became a major national priority for organized labor, which contributed substantial funds to the cause.  And Missouri voters, by a 2-to-1 margin, have effectively blocked the right-to-work law. 

In a right-to-work state (like Kansas), employees in unionized workplaces are permitted to opt out of both union membership and the payment of union fees of any kind. In states without right-to-work laws, employees at unionized workplaces don’t have to be dues-paying union members, but are required to pay “agency fees.” to cover the union’s cost of negotiating employment contracts that affect all bargaining unit workers.