Missouri Laws 130.028 – Prohibitions against certain discrimination or intimidation relating to ..
1. Every person, labor organization, or corporation organized or existing by virtue of the laws of this state, or doing business in this state who shall:
(1) Discriminate or threaten to discriminate against any member in this state with respect to his or her membership, or discharge or discriminate or threaten to discriminate against any employee in this state, with respect to his or her compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment by reason of his political beliefs or opinions; or
Attorney's Note
Under the Missouri Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class E felony | up to 4 years | up to $10,000 |
| Class A misdemeanor | up to 1 year | up to $2,000 |
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 130.028
- candidate: includes an elected officeholder who is the subject of a recall election, an individual who seeks nomination by the individual's political party for election to public office, an individual standing for retention in an election to an office to which the individual was previously appointed, an individual who seeks nomination or election whether or not the specific elective public office to be sought has been finally determined by such individual at the time the individual meets the conditions described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subdivision, and an individual who is a write-in candidate as defined in subdivision (28) of this section. See Missouri Laws 130.011
- committee: includes , but is not limited to, each of the following committees: campaign committee, candidate committee, continuing committee and political party committee. See Missouri Laws 130.011
- Continuing committee: includes , but is not limited to, any committee organized or sponsored by a business entity, a labor organization, a professional association, a trade or business association, a club or other organization and whose primary purpose is to solicit, accept and use contributions from the members, employees or stockholders of such entity and any individual or group of individuals who accept and use contributions to influence or attempt to influence the action of voters. See Missouri Laws 130.011
- Contribution: includes , but is not limited to:
(a) A candidate's own money or property used in support of the person's candidacy other than expense of the candidate's food, lodging, travel, and payment of any fee necessary to the filing for public office. See Missouri Laws 130.011
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Election: any primary, general or special election held to nominate or elect an individual to public office, to retain or recall an elected officeholder or to submit a ballot measure to the voters, and any caucus or other meeting of a political party or a political party committee at which that party's candidate or candidates for public office are officially selected. See Missouri Laws 130.011
- Labor organization: any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work. See Missouri Laws 130.011
- Person: an individual, group of individuals, corporation, partnership, committee, proprietorship, joint venture, any department, agency, board, institution or other entity of the state or any of its political subdivisions, union, labor organization, trade or professional or business association, association, political party or any executive committee thereof, or any other club or organization however constituted or any officer or employee of such entity acting in the person's official capacity. See Missouri Laws 130.011
- State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
(2) Coerce or attempt to coerce, intimidate or bribe any member or employee to vote or refrain from voting for any candidate at any election in this state; or
(3) Coerce or attempt to coerce, intimidate or bribe any member or employee to vote or refrain from voting for any issue at any election in this state; or
(4) Make any member or employee as a condition of membership or employment, contribute to any candidate, political committee or separate political fund; or
(5) Discriminate or threaten to discriminate against any member or employee in this state for contributing or refusing to contribute to any candidate, political committee or separate political fund with respect to the privileges of membership or with respect to his employment and the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges related thereto shall be guilty of a class E felony.
2. No employer, corporation, continuing committee, or labor organization shall receive or cause to be made contributions from its members or employees except on the advance voluntary permission of the members or employees. Violation of this section by the corporation, employer, continuing committee or labor organization shall be a class A misdemeanor.
3. An employer shall, upon written request by ten or more employees, provide its employees with the option of contributing to a continuing committee as defined in section 130.011 through payroll deduction, if the employer has a system of payroll deduction. No contribution to a continuing committee from an employee through payroll deduction shall be made other than to a continuing committee voluntarily chosen by the employee. Violation of this section shall be a class A misdemeanor.
4. Any person aggrieved by any act prohibited by this section shall, in addition to any other remedy provided by law, be entitled to maintain within one year from the date of the prohibited act, a civil action in the courts of this state, and if successful, he or she shall be awarded civil damages of not less than one hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars, together with his or her costs, including reasonable attorney’s fees. Each violation shall be a separate cause of action.