Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 213.055 (2026)

Unlawful employment practices

✓ current as of May 2026

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213.055. Unlawful employment practices — exceptions. — 1. It shall be an unlawful employment practice:

(1) For an employer, because of the race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability of any individual:

(a) To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability;

(b) To limit, segregate, or classify his employees or his employment applicants in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability;

(2) For a labor organization to exclude or to expel from its membership any individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or any individual employed by an employer because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability of any individual; or to limit, segregate, or classify its membership, or to classify or fail or refuse to refer for employment any individual, in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities, or would limit such employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee or as an applicant for employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability; or for any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs to discriminate against any individual because of his race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training;

(3) For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any statement, advertisement or publication, or to use any form of application for employment or to make any inquiry in connection with prospective employment, which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination, because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual because of his or her race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age as it relates to employment, or disability, or to classify or refer for employment any individual because of his or her race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to apply different standards of compensation, or different terms, conditions or privileges of employment pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, or a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, provided that such differences or such systems are not the result of an intention or a design to discriminate, and are not used to discriminate, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age or disability, nor shall it be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to give and to act upon the results of any professionally developed ability test, provided that such test, its administration, or action upon the results thereof, is not designed, intended or used to discriminate because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability.

3. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be interpreted to require any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee subject to this chapter to grant preferential treatment to any individual or to any group because of the race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability of such individual or group on account of an imbalance which may exist with respect to the total number or percentage of persons of any race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability employed by any employer, referred or classified for employment by any employment agency or labor organization, admitted to membership or classified by any labor organization, or admitted to or employed in any apprenticeship or other training program, in comparison with the total number or percentage of persons of such race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability in any community, state, section, or other area, or in the available workforce in any community, state, section, or other area.

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for the state or any political subdivision of the state to comply with the provisions of 29 U.S.C. Section 623 relating to employment as firefighters or law enforcement officers.

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(L. 1986 S.B. 513, A.L. 1998 S.B. 786, A.L. 1999 H.B. 568, A.L. 2017 S.B. 43)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 178 cases (54 in the last 5 years), 1988–2026 · leading case: Harold Lampley & Rene Frost v. The Missouri Comm'n on Human Rights & Alisa Warren, 570 S.W.3d 16 (Mo. 2019).

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Harold Lampley & Rene Frost v. The Missouri Comm'n on Human Rights & Alisa Warren, 570 S.W.3d 16 (Mo. 2019). · cites it 18× “In December 2014, Lampley filed an Amended Charge of Discrimination (“Amended Charge”) under section 213.055 1 with the Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”).”

Hill v. Ford Motor Co., 277 S.W.3d 659 (Mo. 2009). · cites it 9× “A claim of violation of this section is submitted to the jury as follows: Your verdict must be for plaintiff if you believe: First, defendant (here insert the alleged discriminatory act, such as “failed to hire,” “discharged” or other act within the scope of Section 213.055,…”

Daugherty v. City of Maryland Heights, 231 S.W.3d 814 (Mo. 2007). · cites it 5× “24 states: Your verdict must be for plaintiff if you believe: First, defendant (here insert the alleged discriminatory act, such as “failed to hire,” “discharged” or other act within the scope of Section 213.055, RSMo) plaintiff, and Second, (here insert one or more of the…”

R.M.A. (a Minor Child), by his Next Friend: Rachelle Appleberry v. Blue Springs R-IV Sch. Dist. & Blue Springs Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 568 S.W.3d 420 (Mo. 2019). · cites it 4× “banc 1984) (holding elements of an employment sex discrimination claim under section 213.055 are: "that complainant [ (1) ] was a member of a class protected by § 296.”

Berkowski v. St. Louis Cnty. Bd. of Election Commissioners, 854 S.W.2d 819 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 14× “Section 2000e-2 and sex and handicap discrimination in violation of Section 213.055 RSMo 1986. 2 She sought damages in the amount of her back pay and reinstatement with duties commensurate with her handicap.”

State Ex Rel. Diehl v. O'MALLEY, 95 S.W.3d 82 (Mo. 2003). · cites it 6× “The specific statutorily described wrong, as stated in section 213.055, is that it is unlawful for an employer covered by the law “[t]o fail or refuse to hire or to *88 discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his…”

Bachtel v. Miller Cnty. Nursing Home Dist., 110 S.W.3d 799 (Mo. 2003). · cites it 6× “" Section 213.055 RSMo provides that it shall be unlawful employment practice: "(1) for an employer, because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or handicap of an individual.”

Margiotta v. Christian Hosp. Ne. Nw., 315 S.W.3d 342 (Mo. 2010). · cites it 6× “" Section 213.055, RSMo. Supp.2005. In addition, Missouri recognizes the public-policy exception to the at-will-employment rule.”

Kunzie v. Jack-In-The-Box, Inc., 330 S.W.3d 476 (Mo. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 6× “[2] Section 213.055, RSMo 2000. [3] Appellant's memorandum further explained that "the [arbitration] agreement was signed by [Appellant] under [Respondent's] threat of termination if [he] did not sign the agreement on or about, January 14, 2004.”

Howard v. City of Kansas City, 332 S.W.3d 772 (Mo. 2011). · cites it 4× “It shall be an unlawful employment practice: (1) For an employer, because of the race, color, religion, national origin, sex, ancestry, age or disability of any individual: (a) To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any…”

Stafford v. State, 835 F. Supp. 1136 (W.D. Mo. 1993). · cites it 15× “(Title VII) and Mo.Rev.Stat. § 213.055. On August 19, 1992, during trial, judgment was entered in favor of the defendants as a matter of law on plaintiffs claim under § 1983 that she was denied a promotion because of her sex.”

Keveney v. Missouri Military Academy, 304 S.W.3d 98 (Mo. 2010). · cites it 3× “” Section 213.055, RSMo Supp. 2005. Missouri courts also recognize a public policy exception to the employment at-will doctrine.”

Show all 178 citing cases →

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 213.055(1) — 1 case

Hazel Erby v. St. Louis Cnty. (Mo. Ct. App. 2025).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 213.055(l)(a) — 2 cases

Matter of Interco Inc., 152 B.R. 273 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 1993).

Conway v. Missouri Comm'n on Human Rights, 7 S.W.3d 571 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999).

— Mo. Rev. Stat. § 213.055(l)(l)(a) — 2 cases

Shirrell v. Saint Francis Med. Ctr., 24 F. Supp. 3d 851 (E.D. Mo. 2014).

Stone v. McGraw-Hill Global Educ. Holdings, LLC, 126 F. Supp. 3d 1077 (E.D. Mo. 2015).

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