Bill > HB2495

This bill proposes comprehensive updates to Missouri's gender-based wage discrimination laws by expanding protections for employees and clarifying employers' obligations regarding compensation. The bill eliminates gender-specific language and replaces it with gender-neutral terminology, and broadly defines "wages" to include all forms of compensation such as base pay, overtime, bonuses, stock options, and tips. The legislation prohibits employers from discriminating in compensation for equal work that requires equivalent skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions. The bill allows for wage differentials based on legitimate factors like seniority, merit systems, production quantity/quality, and regional economic differences, but explicitly states that market rates cannot be used as a justification for gender-based pay disparities. Additionally, the bill provides strong anti-retaliation protections, making it unlawful for employers to punish employees who discuss wages, file complaints, or participate in investigations. Employees who successfully prove wage discrimination can recover lost wages, compensatory damages, and in cases of deliberate violations, potentially receive punitive damages. The bill also empowers the labor and industrial relations commission to educate employers about gender discrimination and recommend legislative improvements, with a two-year statute of limitations for filing claims and potential court-ordered remedies including worker reclassification and reinstatement.

https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB2495&year=2026&code=R