Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Aug 21, 2018
Natasha Jordan, Appellant, vs. Bi-State Development Agency, et al., Respondents.
Natasha Jordan appealed the dismissal of her discrimination claims under the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) against the Bi-State Development Agency and Lawrence Brew. The trial court dismissed the claims, finding that Bi-State, as an interstate compact, was not subject to the MHRA because its "contributing factor" burden of proof imposed an impermissible unilateral burden compared to the Illinois Human Rights Act's "motivating factor" standard. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the MHRA and IHRA were not "complementary or parallel laws" at the time of filing, thus precluding unilateral application of the MHRA to the interstate compact.