JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says he wants lawmakers to send him a bill to protect private employers from legal challenges if they give preference to veterans in hiring and promotions.
The proposed policy change is part of Greitens’ larger push to, as he describes it, “make this the best state in the country for veterans.” Greitens campaigned heavily on his military experience as a Navy SEAL and pledged to help other former service members.
But two St. Louis employment attorneys say rolling back a bill Greitens signed last year that they say makes it harder for people with disabilities to sue for discrimination would benefit veterans more.
Greitens, who founded a charity for veterans after his own military service, told The Associated Press that Missouri employers now face potential lawsuits for prioritizing veterans in hiring.
Spokesman Parker Briden said that’s because most veterans historically have been men, so giving preference to veterans could expose employers to discrimination lawsuits under federal equal employment laws.
But the governor said there’s an exception for states that pass laws allowing such a practice. At least 38 other states have adopted similar policies, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“It is a step toward helping veterans,” said Cary Kellett, the Department of Missouri commander for the American Legion. “It’s not so much the larger businesses but the smaller businesses, the ones that might be afraid of a lawsuit one way or the other because they don’t have the money for the big corporate law offices to support them.”
Bills filed so far in the Missouri Legislature also would let private businesses give priority to spouses of veterans with disabilities or spouses of deceased veterans.
