The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is responsible for administering programs that provide an income for workers to offset the loss of a job because of an injury or layoff; collecting unemployment contributions from employers and paying unemployment benefits to those who lost their job due to no fault of their own; determining the appropriate bargaining unit for public employees; regulating wages for public works and construction projects; enforcing the minimum wage law and child labor law, promoting safe working environments; enforcing Missouri’s anti-discriminatory statutes and preventing and eliminating discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, and places of public.

Division of Employment Security

The Division of Employment Security collects tax contributions from employers and pays unemployment benefits to individuals who are determined eligible under the law. State unemployment contributions paid by Missouri employers into the Missouri Trust Fund are set aside for the sole purpose of providing for the payment of weekly unemployment benefits to qualified claimants. The unemployment benefits paid to insured workers help to maintain the economy of the state during periods of economic downturn by helping preserve the level of consumer purchasing power.

The Division’s contributions section ensures that employers are properly classifying their workers, reporting their workers’ wages and paying the correct tax contributions on wages.

Division of Workers’ Compensation

The Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation administers the programs which provide for Missouri workers who are injured on the job or develop occupational diseases. The Division focuses on making sure that those who can return to work do so as soon as possible, having received adequate treatment and benefits. For those who cannot return to work because of their injury or injuries, the Division ensures that they receive the permanent benefits allowed by Missouri law.

The Division has seven offices throughout Missouri with the main office being in Jefferson City. Missouri employers are required to report workplace injuries within 30 days of occurrence. The Division receives reports of injury for approximately 100,000 injuries each year.

Division of Labor Standards

The Division of Labor Standards  consists of five sections: Wage and Hour, On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Service, Mine and Cave Safety and Health, Workers’ Safety Program, and Research and Analysis.

The Wage and Hour section enforces the state’s laws on Prevailing Wage, Child Labor and Minimum Wage.

The On-Site safety and Health program provides important resources to employers, including free confidential, consultation service to ensure compliance with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.

Additionally, the Mine and Cave section inspects mine and cave sites, trains miners in the practice of implementing safe and healthy working habits. The Workers’ Safety Program certifies and audits safety consultants, engineers, and programs used by employers, and the Research and Analysis section collects survey information from employers across the state regarding workplace injuries and incorporates them into reports published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

State Board of Mediation

The State Board of Mediation is a quasi-judicial board created by the General Assembly in 1947.  Article I Section 29 of the Missouri Constitution states that all employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. The Board of Mediation is charged with determining appropriate bargaining units of public employees, based on their community of interests and regulating of the labor relations of public utilities. The Board also conducts elections to determine the representation status of petitioning bargaining units for public employees only.

Missouri Commission on Human Rights

The Missouri Human Rights Act requires the Commission to receive, investigate, settle, or hear complaints of alleged discrimination in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation. The Commission is enabled to certify local commissions, establish relationships with federal and local civil and human rights agencies, implement educational or research programs, and develop ways to prevent discrimination. The Commission has authority over complaints based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, disability, ages 40-69 (in employment only), and familial status (in housing only).