Sen. Brad Lager, R-Maryville, filed Senate Bill 592, which proposes to modify the Missouri Human Rights Act and employment discrimination law, on Jan. 3.

The bill would lessen the degree of discrimination in employment.

Lager said he believed this tough criteria for the employment would attract fewer workers, making Missouri less competitive than other states.

He wants to change the standard for unlawful discrimination of an employee’s protected status from a contributing factor to a motivating factor.

Lager said a motivating factor standard has been the part of federal law since the Civil Rights Act was created and is used in all states except Missouri.

Richard Germinder, a member of Lager’s legislative staff, discussed Lager’s idea about these two factors.

“In practice, a contributing factor standard is extraordinarily skewed towards plaintiffs (one who sues), and a motivating factor has a practical effect that is more balanced between employees and employers in a legal setting,” Germinder said.

Lager stressed that discriminatory practice makes employees vulnerable, since a contributing factor places a heavier burden on employees in discrimination court cases.

In response to Lager’s first attempt with Senate Bill 188, Gov. Jay Nixon said in his veto letter, “Bill No. 188 represents a significant retreat from the basic principles of fairness embodied in the Missouri Human Rights Act and erects unacceptable impediments to those victimized by discrimination and seeking to avail themselves of the Act’s legal protection.”

The House and Senate passed SB188, but Nixon vetoed the bill on May 13, 2011.

Nixon listed eight reasons why he vetoed the bill in his letter, one being it would limit the right to a jury trial.

Lager said he would continue to push this bill because he sees the way Missouri employment law works as a real problem.

“The reality is whether the governor vetoes it or not, this issue is not going away,” he said. “This is a serious problem for employers in Missouri, so I am going to do what is right, not what is politically popular for the governor.”

Then he warned that if Missouri continues its current employment discrimination law, Missouri would soon lose its competency against other states.

“In (the) environment like we have today, there are so many states that are recruiting so many companies to create jobs in their states,” Lager said. “Missouri needs to be competitive.”

Lager said Nixon is not putting Missouri’s best economic interests first.

“So, this governor needs to stop playing politics, stop protecting these trial lawyers that are decimating jobs in our state, and get serious and doing what is right for employers in Missouri so that we can grow jobs, grow our economy, and return Missouri to the past of prosperity,” Lager said.

Nixon declined comment on any bill because it has not yet gone through the legislative session.