Senate gives first round approval to pro-busniness bill

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Intro:	The Missouri Senate gave first round approval to a measure to restrict discrimination lawsuits Wednesday.
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Wrap:If passed,the bill would make illegal discrimination a motivating factor in an employment discrimination lawsuit.

It would also cap damages a state workplace would have to pay in a discrimination lawsuit based on its number of employees.

Democratic Senator Jolie Justus says she will vote against the bill.

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Description: This is a mess. If you wanted to create good, strong, new statutory law in this state then draft it. Say what you mean. Don't just refer to vague federal regulations, vague federal statutes.

The Senate perfected the bill and will continue to review it after it is reprinted.

From the state Capitol, I'm Danielle McCarthy.

Intro:	Despite a filibuster, the Missouri Senate gave first round approval to legislation that would limit discrimination lawsuits from employees.
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Wrap: If the bill went into effect, employees would have a harder time filing discrimination lawsuits against their employers.

The pro-business legislation would also determine the punitive damages a public institution pays in employment cases.

Democratic Senator Jolie Justus opposes the bill.

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Description: I think it does absolutely nothing, nothing to create jobs. And once again I thought that was the number one priority that we were all sent down here to do this year - to make sure we had a balanced budget and to put people back to work in the state of Missouri.

The Senate perfected the bill and will continue to review it after it is printed.

From the state Capitol, I'm Danielle McCarthy.

Intro:	A filibuster didn't stop the Missouri Senate from giving first round approval to a bill that restricts employee discrimination lawsuits.
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Wrap: Senators debated and perfected the bill Wednesday.

If the bill passed it would make illegal discrimination a motivating factor in a lawsuit.

The bill also caps the amount of punitive damages a public institution must pay in employee discrimination cases.

Republican Senator Luann Ridgeway asked why only public institutions were included in the bill.

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Description: I have a lot of questions about the whole issue of punitive damages. Because, I don't like the concept of giving government a pass when private industry gets hammered with punitive damages.

The Senate will continue to review the bill.

From the state Capitol, I'm Danielle McCarthy.