Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The United States is one of the most diverse countries in the world. We are a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and multi-religious nation. We have instituted laws to protect, and respect, these differences. These laws are a testament to our dual commitment of promoting equality and respecting individuals' differences and beliefs.
Part of my job, as your Representative, is to respond to the multiple issues you face everyday. No matter how small or how large these issues may be it is my duty to help solve your problems. It invigorates me to know that I can be of service to you. It is equally pleasing to see how, working together, we can make things right. With every issue that is brought to light, we can work to ensure that the same problems don't arise for other citizens in the future. This newsletter is inspired by an experience of Daphne Jones, my constituent and your neighbor.
A few days before Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Ms. Jones wore an "I love being Black" button to work at Healthcare Strategic Initiatives (HSI), a St. Louis based company. She also wore other buttons, along with this one, to commemorate the upcoming national holiday in February.
Ms. Jones' supervisor asked her to remove the button because it was offensive. She complied, but was taken aback by his reasoning. After this took place, Ms. Jones sought outside counsel after reviewing HSI's policy and procedures manual which she says contained no rules against wearing buttons or statements about ethnic pride on a national holiday. She and her lawyer met with her supervisor, and she was terminated the next day. She received no warning, no notice in writing or any other form of communication explaining why her outside attorney's presence in the office was a violation to company policy. This is interesting because while working at HSI, Ms. Jones had a stellar work and attendance record and had not been reprimanded for anything.
A middle manager at the company, also, told Ms. Jones, that he would not force someone to remove an "I love being Irish" button on St. Patrick's Day. Daphne was highly disturbed by this comment as most people would. This company's lack of sensitivity to a tradition widely celebrated by people of all races and their blatant discriminatory practices are asinine at best.
As I stated in the St. Louis American, it appears that HSI management equates such expressions of self-respect and appreciation of identity with an ideology of hatred. They equate a dedicated employee's display for love of herself and ethnic background as offensive. While the company is entitled to its policies, it must be ethical in its practice and administration of those policies.
After firing Ms. Jones, HSI denied a request for unemployment benefits submitted by Ms. Jones to the state. HSI argued that they did not have to pay Ms. Jones unemployment compensation because she violated the company's grievance process policy by bringing her attorney to HSI. As we know already there were no exciting rules subject to the denial of unemployment compensation. However, the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations disagreed with HSI finding no misconduct on the part of Ms. Jones, entitling her to compensation from the day she was fired. Though this process is sometimes long and tedious, people in similar situations to Ms. Jones often have to fight private corporate entities that clearly lack the ability to follow state law. The good news is that Ms. Jones will not need to draw upon her unemployment any longer, as she is now working in a new position in the organ transplant unit at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. This most certainly is a positive outcome; however, there are potentially many more Missourians in this predicament who have no idea of their legal options.
Missouri, unfortunately, is an employment-at-will state, meaning employees can be fired for any reason at any time. However, under the Missouri Human Rights Act, NO Missourian can be fired on the basis of his or her race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, or age (40-69). While this is an exception to the rule, our society has deemed it extremely important to make sure that these individuals are afforded protection and respect in the workplace.
Under MoRS section 213.075, "any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice may make, sign and file" a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) within 180 days of the alleged act of discrimination. Any person wanting to file a complaint after 180 days (and no later than 300 days) should contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and they can investigate the complaint. The Missouri Commission on Human Rights is under the auspices of the state of Missouri. The MCHR has an obligation to "enforce Missouri's anti-discrimination statutes and enforce Missouri citizens in areas of housing, employment and public accommodations." The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is charged with enforcing federal laws that prohibit discriminatory practices.
As a result of this real experience, I recently sponsored HB 1003 to make the penalties for employers who discriminate even tougher. This bill does two things. First, it prohibits a public body from entering into a public works contract with a company that has been found guilty of conducting discriminatory employment practices within the previous five years. This provision will penalize companies and will shed light on their intolerable behavior. Not only will they be investigated and sanctioned by the MCHR, but they will be ineligible for Missouri government contracts. We should not give public money to companies who engage in employment discrimination.
As the law stands today, employers are not required to provide employees written cause. My bill forces Missouri employers to provide employees with a written cause for termination.
This legislation is important to many residents in our community. It is paramount that we protect individuals in the workplace.
I look forward to your questions and comments.
Representative Maria Chappelle-Nadal72nd District105 H, Capitol BuildingJefferson City, MO 65101
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