More than 60 worker-related bills pre-filed for 2016 in Missouri Legislature

By SHERI GASSAWAY

Correspondent

Jefferson City – After being defeated in this year’s session of the Missouri Legislature, right-to-work is back on the agenda in 2016 along with paycheck deception, cutting prevailing wage and other attacks on workers.

More than 60 bills have been pre-filed in the Missouri House and Senate – some worker-friendly like increasing the state’s minimum wage, and other familiar measures taking aim at working families.

We’ve compiled a list of those worker/labor-related bills from information from the Missouri Division of Labor and Industrial Relations and Progress Missouri.

Here’s what’s been pre-filed so far:

MISSOURI HOUSE BILLS

HB 1406 (Bill White, R-Joplin) Prohibits the Missouri Housing Development Commission from requiring a prevailing hourly wage to be paid to a contractor on a project for a housing tax credit if it is in a governor-declared disaster area.

HB 1407 (Bill White, R-Joplin) Specifies that a person cannot be required to become or refrain from becoming a member of or paying dues to a labor organization as a condition or continuation of employment. This is a right-to-work bill.

HB 1422 (Nate Walker, R-Kirksville) Specifies that a state employee who works 10-hour days and 40 hours per week cannot be required to take two hours of vacation leave for paid holidays.

HB 1432 (Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold)Requires a hearing to be held within 30 days if a state employee is placed on administrative leave.

HB 1443 (Mike Leara, R-St. Louis) Modifies provisions relating to the Missouri local government employees’ retirement system.

HB 1444 (Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold) Changes provisions relating to fairness in public construction.

HB 1453 (Michael Butler, D-St. Louis) Increases minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 2017.

HB 1462 (Eric Burlison, R-Springfield) Prohibits an employer from requiring a person to become a member of a labor organization as a condition or continuation of employment. This is a right-to-work bill.

HB 1484 (Rochelle Walton-Gray, D-Black Jack) Specifies that a state employee who works 10 hour days and 40 hours per week cannot be required to take two hours of vacation leave for paid holidays.

HB 1490 – (Rochelle Walton-Gray, D-Black Jack) Establishes the Joint Committee on Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation.

HB 1517 (Brandon Ellington, D-Kansas City) Increases the state minimum wage to $10.25 per hour by January 2017.

HB 1527 (Nate Walker, R-Kirksville) Changes the laws regarding public safety officers who are eligible for a survivor’s and disabled employee’s educational grant and the disbursement of any unpaid workers compensation into his or her estate.

HB 1528 (Wanda Brown, R-Lincoln) Revises the definition of “employer” as it relates to workers’ compensation and treats construction like other employers so that a construction employer would have to have five or more employees to be required to carry workers’ compensation insurance.

HB 1530 (Wanda Brown, R-Lincoln) Modifies the law relating to unemployment compensation benefits.

HB 1540 (Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold) Changes the laws regarding employee welfare and retirement plans to require certain employers to provide a summary annual report.

HB 1591 (Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester) Establishes a hybrid retirement plan for state employees and officials.

HB 1615 (Kathryn Swan, R-Cape Girardeau) Requires statements of no tax due to be presented with any bid to perform work on publicly funded projects.

HB 1617 (John McCaherty, R-High Ridge) Establishes the Bring Jobs Home Act that authorizes a tax deduction for out-of-state businesses that relocate to Missouri

HB 1630 (Don Gosen, R-Ballwin) Changes the laws regarding workers’ compensation large deductible policies issued by an insurer.

HB 1699 (Bill Lant, R-Pineville) Establishes the School Construction Act which exempts construction and maintenance work done for certain school districts from the prevailing wage requirement upon the school board’s approval.

HB 1700 (Bill Lant, R-Pineville) Allows public bodies to opt out of prevailing wage laws for the construction of public works projects that are $750,000 or less.

HB 1701 (Bill Lant, R- Pineville) Prohibits an employer from requiring a person to become a member of a labor organization as a condition or continuation of employment. This is a right-to-work bill.

HB 1702 (Bill Lant, R- Pineville) Prohibits an employer from requiring a person to become a member of a labor organization as a condition or continuation of employment in counties which vote for such prohibition. This is a right-to-work bill.

HB 1703 (Bill Lant, R- Pineville) Establishes the Professional Employer Organization Act.

HB 1718 (Kevin Corlew, R-Kansas City) Changes the Uniform Arbitration Act regarding agreements between employers and at-will employees.

HB 1722 (John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon) Specifies requirements for public employee labor organizations.

HB 1740 (Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville) Requires the State Board of Mediation to conduct an election to certify the exclusive bargaining representatives of an appropriate collective bargaining unit for certain public employees every two years.

HB 1756 (Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville) Establishes the Employee Reclassification Act.

HB 1763 (Don Gosen, R-Ballwin) Changes the laws regarding workers’ compensation large deductible policies issued by an insurer.

HB 1801 (Sharon Pace, D-St. Louis) Prohibits an employer from requiring an employee or prospective employee to consent to a request for a credit report unless the employer is a financial institution or the report is required by law.

HB 1808 (Keith English, I-Florissant) Changes the laws regarding state income tax by exempting all income below $25,000 from taxation.

HB 1809 (Keith English, I-Florissant) Repeals the earnings tax in the cities of Kansas City and St. Louis on Dec. 31, 2017.

HB 1836 (Joe Don McGaugh, R-Carrolton) Modifies provisions related to employer requirements for employee benefits.

HB 1857 (Kirk Mathews, R-Pacific) Repeals the earnings tax in the cities of Kansas City and St. Louis on Dec. 31, 2017.

HB 1864 (Randy Dunn, D-Kansas City) Prohibits employers from inquiring into or considering the criminal records of applicants before offering a conditional offer of employment.

HB 1867 (Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob) Specifies that beginning Jan. 1, 2017, certain shareholders of S corporations may elect to reject workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

HB 1880 (Bill Lant, R- Pineville) Modifies the laws relating to the prevailing wage.

HB 1886 (Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin) Repeals the earnings tax in the cities of Kansas City and St. Louis on Dec. 31, 2019.

HB 1887 (Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin) Prohibits the levying of an earnings tax on non-residents of St. Louis City on Jan. 1, 2018.

HB 1891 (Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston) Prohibits any public employee from being required to pay dues or other fees to a labor organization.

HB 1896 (Bill Otto, D-Maryland Heights) Provides that all members of the General Assembly shall not be eligible for retirement benefits and other employee benefits.

HB 1902 (Jered Taylor, R-Nixa) Establishes the Freedom to Work Act.

HB 1924 (Randy Dunn, D-Kansas City) Changes the laws regarding complaints filed with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights regarding discrimination based upon a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

HB 1927 (Craig Redmon, R-Canton) Establishes the Show Me Rural Jobs Act.

HB 1931 (Warren Love, R-Osceola) Repeals provisions relating to prevailing wage on public works.

HJR 56 (Eric Burlison, R-Springfield) Proposes a constitutional amendment to limit general revenue appropriations and mandate state income tax reductions in certain situations.

MISSOURI SENATE BILLS

SB 575 (Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia) Repeals the earnings tax in Kansas City and St. Louis on Dec. 31 2017.

SB 598 (Dan Brown, R-Rolla) Repeals the law pertaining to prevailing wage.

SB 599 (Dan Brown, R-Rolla) Allows public employee labor unions to withhold fees from public employee paychecks only upon the annual written consent of the employee. It also requires the public employee’s annual consent for public employee labor unions to use fees and dues for political purposes. This is a paycheck deception bill.

SB 601 (Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City) Adds post-traumatic stress disorder as an occupational disease for purposes of workers’ compensation laws for fire fighters and emergency medical techs.

SB 606 (David Sater, R-Cassville) Modifies the law relating to prevailing wage by changing the definitions of construction and maintenance and exempting charter counties from this change.

SB 610 (Ed Emery, R-Lamar) Repeals the criteria that a school board uses when placing teachers on leave of absence because of a decrease in student enrollment, district reorganization or financial condition.

SB 613 (Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville) Enacts new provisions of law relating to the workers’ compensation insurance premiums of volunteer fire departments and creates a grant program for volunteer departments to pay for workers’ compensation insurance.

SB 639 (Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane) Allows political subdivisions to assign operation of a retirement plan to the Missouri Local Government Employees’ Retirement System.

SB 653 (Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis) Bars discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

SB 667 (Dan Brown, R-Rolla) Bars employers from requiring employees to become or refrain from becoming a member of a labor organization or pay dues or other charges required of labor organization members as a condition of employment. This is a right-to-work bill.

SB 668 (Dan Brown, R-Rolla) Requires the State Board of Mediation to conduct an election every two years to certify the exclusive bargaining representation of a collective bargaining unit. If a representative fails to receive 51 percent of the vote in favor of certification or recertification, the board will decertify the representative. This is an attempt to automatically decertify unions.

SB 695 (Scott Sifton, D-Affton) Prohibits paying any employee wages less than those paid to employees of the opposite gender for the same work.

SB 700 (Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan) Modifies the law relating to workers’ compensation premium rates.

SB 702 (Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown) Modifies the law relating to unemployment compensation benefits.

SB 724 (Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis) Prohibits employers from inquiring into or considering the criminal records of applicants before offering a conditional offer of employment

SB 725 (Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis) Requires corporations that pay all employees less than $15 per hour to give those employees the option to be paid on a weekly basis. It also raises the minimum wage to $12 per hour over a four-year period.

SB 745 (Gary Romine, R-Farmington) Modifies the law relating to unlawful discrimination.

SB 746 (Gary Romine, R-Farmington) Modifies laws regarding arbitration agreements between employers and at-will employees.

SB 759 (Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City) Makes it a crime for employers who divulge certain personal information of employees and customers.

SB 760 (Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City) Prohibits a workforce development agency from knowingly omitting from any bidding process an entity with whom it has a contract.

SB 803 (Scott Sifton, D-Affton) Permits bereaved employees to take up to three days of bereavement leave upon the death of a child, grandparent, parent, sibling or spouse. Employers of bereaved employees are permitted to seek verification of such death.

SB 806 (Bob Onder, R-Lake St. Louis) Modifies provisions relating to collective bargaining representation for public employees.

SB 814 (Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau) Allows an individual to deduct income earned through active military duty from their Missouri adjusted gross income.

SB 819 (Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur) Requires employees and volunteers of specified public and private institutions to receive an influenza vaccination every year.

SB 829 (Jay Wasson, R-Nixa) Relating to the regulation of previously unregulated professions.

SB 831 (Jay Wasson, R-Nixa) Relating to procedures for applying, renewing and paying for professional licensure.

SB 832 (Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau) Relating to business filing fees collected by the secretary of state.

SJR 25 (Ed Emery, R-Lamar) Eliminates income taxes and replaces them with an expanded sales and use tax and creates a property tax relief credit.

SJR 33 (Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale) Amends the Constitution to limit general revenue appropriations and mandate state income tax rate reductions in certain situations.