JEFFERSON CITY— Missouri legislators are considering a measure that would create a tort cause of action for injuries that result from harassment in the workplace, but the head of the Associated Industries of Missouri thinks it will just create a new way to sue employers.
House Bill 1709 is sponsored by Rep. Alan Green (D-Florissant).
The legislation would allow a victim of workplace harassment who suffers physical or psychological injury, or illness that is medically diagnosed and stems from the offender’s conduct to file a civil action to recover damages and reasonable fees for attorneys and expert witnesses.
Ray McCarty, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Missouri, said the organization generally is opposed to legislation that could create new causes of action against employers.
“This bill appears to fall in that category,” McCarty said. “We encourage all employers to make their workplaces safe and free from harassment.”
Whether the legislation could improve the workplace environment could be open to debate.
“Creating new ways to sue employers is not the answer,” McCarty said.
Green did not respond to requests for comment from the St. Louis Record.
For a claim of workplace harassment to be successful under the proposed legislation , there are several key benchmarks.
The victim and offender must have the same place of employment and the actions driving the claim must have occurred in the workplace.
The offender’s conduct also must meet some specified criteria.
HB 1709 is very close to a similar proposal in 2017, which failed to make it to the floor for a vote.
Green also sponsored that measure, House Bill 1006, which failed to make it out of the Select Committee on Local, State, Federal Relations and Miscellaneous Business.
HB 1007 also deemed that the offender’s conduct had to be reckless and intentional.
For the claim to be successful, the offender also had to knowingly include communications that were “in a frightening or intimidating matter” and also “knowingly used coarse language offensive to one of average sensibility.”