Injured on the job as a Missouri employee? You need the state Supreme Court’s help
Employed at a public entity in Missouri? Tread lightly. If you get hurt on the job and file a workers’ compensation claim, you may not be protected from being fired as retaliation.
Unless the Supreme Court of Missouri acts.
The sovereign immunity clause that protects the state from litigation is the rule, not the exception, J. Drew Marriott, an attorney for the Independence School District, argued this week in front of a Missouri Supreme Court panel.
The school district is considered a political subdivision of the state and therefore should not be held liable for violating Missouri’s workers’ compensation law, Marriott contended.
He ignored the fact that school districts employees are not state workers, as the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled last year.
Under state statutes, the Independence School District is defined as an employer governing workers’ compensation. The district isn’t immune from liability in such cases, according to the legal framework.
But the ambiguity of the law is confusing. And it’s up to the state’s highest court to provide legal clarity.
As it stands today, hundreds if not thousands of Missourians have no legal recourse to seek relief from a public body such as a school district or a local municipality for violating the state’s workers’ compensation law against retaliatory discharge, legal experts told us.
Don’t believe us? In late 2019, Travis Poke, a former custodian with Independence schools, sustained a hernia on the job. For weeks, he worked through the pain, according to court documents.
Citing the work-related injury, Poke exercised his right to workers’ compensation and requested time off to recover. In January 2020, his treatment was authorized by the school district. He also underwent a drug screening as part of the process.
Poke tested positive for marijuana, court records show. His workers’ compensation claim was denied. Poke was fired for being under the influence of drugs while on the job. Traces of marijuana can remain in one’s bloodstream for weeks, long after its effect has worn off, of course.
Poke sued for retaliation, believing the real reason he was fired was for filing for workers’ comp. In Missouri, employers can’t discriminate against or fire a worker for exercising his or her rights to a workers’ compensation claim.
“Any employee who has been discharged or discriminated against in such a manner shall have a civil action for damages against his or her employer,” state statutes read.
The Poke case hinges on whether school districts are exempt from these laws governing employers and workers’ comp retaliation. Missouri law indicates that school districts are not exempt, according to court filings.
Yet, in a summary judgment, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Phillips tossed out Poke’s lawsuit. The school district was protected by sovereign immunity, Phillips determined. Poke never had an opportunity to have the merits of the case heard in a court of law. How is that even remotely fair?
But her decision was overturned by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, which found that the judge had erred in deciding that the school district was immune from being sued for alleged retaliation against Poke.
This week, the Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments from both sides. Whenever the final ruling is announced, the decision will have ramifications not just for Poke, but for an untold number of public school employees for years to come.
The state Supreme Court must uphold the appeals court’s decision. Poke and other public school district employees across Missouri deserve their day in court to prove their claims of retaliation or discrimination. Employers are bound to act according to the law.
The case offers a simple question of statutory interpretation, attorneys for Poke argued this week. Are school districts political subdivisions immune from personal injury lawsuits?
We say no. The Missouri Supreme Court will have the final word.
