News You Can Use

AAJ Press Offerings

• The New Republic: Sick Because of Roundup? These Bills Could Make Suing Impossible​
• The Washington Post: Bayer lobbies Congress to help fight lawsuits tying Roundup to cancer​
• Financial Times: Bayer turns to state lobbying in battle over Roundup weedkiller​
• CBS News:  Bayer seeks legal shield from suits claiming Roundup causes cancer​
• NBC St. Louis: Proposed bill sparks debate over pesticide immunity in Missouri amid health concerns​
• The Guardian:  ‘It’s an abomination’: battle brewing over proposed US laws to protect pesticide companies​
• Politico: Weekly Agriculture: Pesticides, First in MA (Morning Agriculture) scroll to bottom​
• The Associated Press: Weedkiller manufacturer seeks lawmakers’ help to squelch claims it failed to warn about cancer​
• Idaho Statesman: How Idaho became the target of an influence campaign to protect pesticide companies

Proposed bill sparks debate over pesticide immunity in Missouri amid health concerns
Missouri is now one of three states where bills to shield pesticide makers from lawsuits have been filed this year alone.

Kanakuk abuse survivors urge Missouri lawmakers to extend statute of limitations
The House judiciary committee on Monday heard public testimony on a bill that would give childhood sexual abuse survivors the ability to file a civil claim up to age 55.

Missouri lawmakers will again try to stretch statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) - Missouri lawmakers are considering a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse. The bill, HB 1617, would add the term “childhood sexual abuse” to the listed legal definitions of rape in the second degree, sodomy in the second degree, sexual abuse in the second degree, sexual trafficking of a child in the first degree, sexual trafficking of a child in the second degree, sexual exploitation of a minor, and child used in a sexual performance.

Bill targets lawsuits in 'plaintiff-friendly' St. Louis
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Business groups are praising a bill under consideration in the Missouri Senate that would restrict when people can join together to sue over injuries.

Missouri Workplace Bill Dies Amid 'Me Too' Movement
March 25, 2018
By SUMMER BALLENTINE, Associated Press
    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri bill to strengthen employment contracts that require harassment and other workplace disputes to be settled out of court has died.
     At issue are arbitration agreements. They're common contracts in which businesses require employees to settle misconduct lawsuits through private companies and not in court.

Editorial: A bad discrimination law prompts federal repercussions for Missouri
March 13, 2018
By the Editorial Board - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
   A new law in Missouri makes it nearly impossible for victims to win discrimination cases and removes legal protections for whistleblowers. It has embarrassed the state and posed problems for the travel industry and other businesses. Now the federal government is withholding housing funds and threatening St. Louis’ participation in the federal fair housing program.
   Lawmakers had ample warning of repercussions last year when they considered Senate Bill 43. Gov. Eric Greitens knew before signing it that the law could be an expensive black eye for Missouri. Even the Trump administration raised concerns. Greitens signed it anyway.

Requirements for filing asbestos claims could be expanded
March 13, 2018
BY SARAH KELLOG - KBIA
   The Missouri House passed a bill Thursday morning that would create more requirements for those filing lawsuits concerning asbestos.
   Among the new rules, the legislation gives the plaintiff filing a lawsuit a 30-day window to disclose all claims made and provide documents for those claims.

House bills would make malpractice lawsuits harder to win
March 13, 2018
BY KRISTOFFER TIGUE - Columbia Missourian
   The Missouri House of Representatives took testimony Monday morning on a series of bills that could make it harder for people to receive damages when suing hospitals or other health-care providers for malpractice.
   The bills would revise or replace language in three Missouri laws, which supporters say will make the legal process fairer for all parties and help reduce unwarranted and pricey lawsuits. Opponents say the bills will make the process less fair by giving plaintiffs less time to build their cases, and by significantly raising the bar for those seeking punitive damages in malpractice suits.

Review launched into state harassment policies
Feb. 21, 2018
By Bob Watson – Jefferson City News Tribune
   Citing the increasing costs of discrimination cases against state government agencies, Attorney General Josh Hawley said Tuesday his office will conduct a comprehensive review of existing discrimination and harassment policies throughout state government.

Missouri pays $8 million in harassment, discrimination cases in 2017
Feb. 21, 2018
By Alisa Nelson, Missourinet
   Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, R, says the increasing costs associated with harassment and discrimination payouts made by the state are not sustainable. An annual report shows the state paid more than $8 million in 2017 in such claims. The financial burden has prompted Hawley to work with the Women’s Foundation to review of policies used within the state’s agencies that address such illegal behavior.

Editorial: Attorney general steps up for workers in harassment arbitration cases.
Feb. 19, 2018 – Editorial Board, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
   Conservative Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley and the #MeToo movement couldn’t be stranger bedfellows, but they have come together to fight against unfair, forced arbitration in sexual harassment cases. Hawley’s position is an unlikely one for a Republican whose party has worked hard to make legal challenges easier for employers to win.

Messenger: Hallmark, Hawley and the #MeToo movement; forced arbitration effort falls flat|
Feb 19, 2018
Tony Messenger – St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  For 20 years, Mary Kay Morrow worked at Hallmark Cards Inc., in Kansas City.
  By 2002 she was an associate product manager. That year, Hallmark’s management came up with a new way to deal with employee complaints about discrimination and harassment. The company instituted the “Hallmark Dispute Resolution Program,” forcing employees, without their consent, into arbitration for any employment issues.

Bill would reduce Missourians' time frame for personal injury lawsuits
Feb. 7, 2018
By Magdaline Duncan for The Missourian & Sarah Kellogg for KBIA
     JEFFERSON CITY — State lawmakers are considering legislation that would shrink the window during which Missourians can file personal injury lawsuits.
     The current statute of limitations is five years; the proposal would lower that to three. Missouri is one of seven states that have a statute of limitations of three years or longer for personal injury; 26 states have a limit of two years.

Forced Arbitration | January 31, 2018 Act 2 | Full Frontal on TBS
     "Why didn't women come out sooner against sexual harassers?" Well, because of questions like that, plus fear, shame, and a very dumb corporate mandate. Sam talks to Gretchen Carlson about forced arbitration.

Silencing victims - of any type - is bad practice
Jan 30, 2018
By LINDA STAMATO & SANFORD M. JAFFE - Guest opinion - New Jersey Star-Ledger
     "The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society... the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweigh the dangers which are cited to justify it." (President John F. Kennedy in an address before the American Newspaper Association, on April 27, 1961)
     Shrouding sexual harassment acts, abuse and discrimination in secret settlement agreements is just the latest in a long stream of cases in which perpetrators pay their way out and hide their sins. The results, for individuals and for society, are consequential. It's time to end the practice once and for all.

Lawmakers begin push to overturn Missouri's discrimination law
Jan 30, 2018
By Sky Chadde - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
     JEFFERSON CITY • The effort to repeal legislation that made it harder to sue for discrimination is underway in the General Assembly.
     Seven bills - six from Democrats and one from a Republican - have been filed this year that would reverse all of or parts of Senate Bill 43, a major win for Republicans in last year's legislative session. 
     "Clearly, backing out of a wrong as significant as Senate Bill 43 is a priority for us," said Rep. Gina Mitten, D-Richmond Heights, the assistant minority leader in the House.

Whistleblower protections would be restored under Missouri proposal
Jan 29, 2018
By Jack Suntrup - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
     JEFFERSON CITY • Though a 2017 law earned the most attention for how it made suing for discrimination more difficult, opponents fear a lesser-known provision in the law removes whistleblower protections for state employees.
     Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, said her proposal restores those protections and expands them to include local government employees.

Taxpayer-funded non-disclosure agreements can hide big problems
Jan. 28, 2018
By Nicole Gallaway - Missouri State Auditor
     A recent audit by my office found Missouri taxpayers were on the hook for more than $115 million in legal settlements and judgments against state entities over the past six years — including more than $9 million paid out in cases involving allegations of workplace discrimination and sexual harassment. But the dollar figure wasn’t our only concern.