Kansas City Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Lawyer

Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Attorneys Serving Kansas City, MO

Were you fired, demoted, or punished after reporting a work injury or filing a workers’ compensation claim? Missouri law protects you — and the attorneys at Siro Smith Dickson PC have spent decades holding employers accountable in the Kansas City metro and across Missouri.

workers compensation retaliation attorney Kansas City

Important notice: Siro Smith Dickson PC handles workers’ compensation retaliation claims under RSMo § 287.780 — not the underlying workers’ compensation benefits claim itself. If you need help obtaining compensation for your work injury (medical benefits, lost wages, disability payments), you should consult a Missouri workers’ compensation attorney. We are happy to provide a referral. If you believe your employer punished you because you filed a claim or exercised your rights, that is where we step in.

What Is Workers’ Compensation Retaliation in Missouri?

Missouri employers are required by law to provide workers’ compensation coverage for job injuries. But some employers go further — they fire, demote, discipline, or otherwise punish employees who dare to report an injury or file a claim. That conduct is illegal.

Missouri Revised Statutes § 287.780 — the state’s workers’ compensation retaliation statute — prohibits any employer or agent from discharging or discriminating against an employee for exercising rights under Chapter 287 of the Missouri Workers’ Compensation Law. The employee’s exercise of those rights must be the motivating factor in the employer’s decision. Under the current legal standard, that means the employee’s protected activity actually played a role in the adverse action and had a determinative influence on it.

A claim under § 287.780 is a civil lawsuit filed in Missouri circuit court — entirely separate from any workers’ comp benefits claim before the Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation. Successful claimants may recover both compensatory and punitive damages.

What Rights Are Protected?

Under Missouri law, protected rights include:

  • Reporting a work-related injury to your employer
  • Seeking medical treatment for a workplace injury
  • Filing a workers’ compensation claim or hiring an attorney to represent you in a claim
  • Testifying or providing information in another employee’s workers’ comp proceeding
  • Exercising any other right granted under Chapter 287 of the Missouri Revised Statutes

If your employer punished you for any of these actions, you may have a retaliation claim — regardless of whether your underlying workers’ compensation claim was successful.

What Employer Conduct Qualifies as Retaliation?

Retaliation is not limited to termination. Under Missouri law and court decisions interpreting § 287.780, actionable retaliation can include:

  • Termination or constructive discharge — firing an employee or making conditions so intolerable they are forced to resign
  • Demotion — reducing rank, title, or responsibilities
  • Reduction in pay — salary cuts, loss of bonuses, or denial of raises
  • Denial of promotion — bypassing a qualified employee for advancement
  • Unfavorable reassignment — transferring an employee to less desirable duties or hours
  • Negative performance reviews — issuing false or bad-faith criticism, performance improvement plans (PIPs), or disciplinary write-ups in retaliation for filing a claim
  • Harassment and isolation — deriding the employee to co-workers, ignoring their requests, or creating a hostile environment
  • Denial of benefits or scheduling changes — removing break privileges or favorable assignments that were in place prior to the exercise of rights

Bad-faith performance criticism and sham PIPs are a particularly common pattern Siro Smith Dickson attorneys see in Missouri retaliation cases. Employers sometimes manufacture a paper trail to justify a termination that was really motivated by the employee’s injury report or workers’ comp filing.

Proving Your Claim: The Motivating Factor Standard

Since 2017, Missouri employees bringing a § 287.780 claim must prove that their exercise of workers’ compensation rights was the motivating factor — meaning it actually played a role in the adverse employment action and had a determinative influence on the outcome. This is an important distinction from the prior “contributing factor” standard. The law was amended by the Missouri legislature in response to evolving court interpretations, and courts are required to strictly construe the statute under RSMo § 287.800.

Evidence that commonly supports a retaliation claim includes:

  • Timing — adverse action taken shortly after a claim was filed or an injury was reported
  • Statements by supervisors expressing frustration with the claim or the worker’s restrictions
  • Inconsistent treatment — comparing how the employer treated employees who did not file claims
  • Personnel records — sudden, unexplained shifts in performance evaluations after an injury report
  • Witness testimony from co-workers who observed retaliatory conduct

The Intersection of Retaliation and Mental Health Injuries

One area that is increasingly significant for Missouri workers: compensable mental injuries arising from workplace stress caused by discrimination or retaliation.

Under RSMo § 287.120, a mental injury may be compensable as a workers’ compensation claim if it is an extraordinary and unusual stress — beyond what a similarly situated employee in a similar employment context would experience. What we frequently see is a compounding cycle:

  1. An employee experiences discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in the workplace — often manifesting as bad-faith performance criticism, PIPs, micromanagement, or hostile conduct.
  2. The resulting stress, anxiety, and psychological harm rises to the level of a compensable mental injury, and the employee reports it or seeks medical treatment.
  3. Once the mental injury is reported as a workers’ compensation claim, further retaliation by the employer gives rise to a separate civil claim under § 287.780.

This intersection — between workplace discrimination law and workers’ compensation retaliation — is nuanced, and it is a focus of our legal work at Siro Smith Dickson. If you were subjected to a hostile or discriminatory workplace that caused your mental health to deteriorate, and then punished for seeking help, you may have claims under multiple Missouri statutes.

If you are experiencing mental health symptoms as a result of workplace conditions, please speak with a qualified medical professional in addition to consulting an attorney.

Statute of Limitations

Missouri workers’ compensation retaliation claims under § 287.780 must be filed within five years of the retaliatory act. While this is a longer window than many employment claims, evidence degrades over time and witness recollections fade. If you believe you have a retaliation claim, consult an attorney as soon as possible.

What Damages Can You Recover?

A successful § 287.780 claim in Missouri circuit court can result in:

  • Lost wages and back pay — compensation for income lost due to termination, demotion, or reduced hours
  • Front pay — future income losses where reinstatement is not feasible
  • Compensatory damages — other out-of-pocket losses and emotional distress damages
  • Punitive damages — where the employer’s conduct was particularly egregious, punitive damages may be available to punish the employer and deter future misconduct

Why Choose Siro Smith Dickson PC?

Siro Smith Dickson PC has been representing employees in Kansas City and across Missouri since the firm’s founding in 1975. For nearly five decades, the firm has focused on serious personal injury and employment law — holding employers and institutions accountable in Missouri and Kansas courts.

Rik N. Siro | Senior Partner

Rik Siro joined the firm in 1985 and developed the firm’s plaintiffs’ employment law practice representing workers and managers in discrimination, wrongful termination, and retaliatory firing cases. He is a Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyer, has been included in The Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law – Individuals and Litigation – Labor and Employment, and was named to the Missouri Power List for employment law by Missouri Lawyers Media. Rik is a J.D. graduate, cum laude, of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and earned his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from the University of Missouri–Columbia. He also works as a mediator in employment and personal injury disputes.

Eric W. Smith | Partner

Eric Smith joined the firm in 2008 and practices principally in the area of employment law, including discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, and wrongful termination cases. A Yale Law School graduate, Eric has over 25 years of experience litigating employment claims in Missouri and Kansas federal and state courts. He is recognized by Super Lawyers in Employment Litigation and has obtained jury verdicts and substantial settlements for employees who have been mistreated by their employers.

Athena M. Dickson | Partner

Athena Dickson joined the firm in 2003 and practices in the areas of personal injury, employment law, and social security disability. She is licensed to practice in Missouri and Kansas state courts as well as the U.S. District Courts for the District of Kansas and the Western District of Missouri. Athena serves as vice president of The Missouri Bar and has served as president of the Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City and president of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association.

Selected Case Results in Employment Law

Siro Smith Dickson has a strong track record of significant outcomes for employees in employment retaliation and discrimination cases:

  • $5,000,000 settlement — Missouri Human Rights Act claim for age and sex discrimination (Linda Ardese v. Kansas City Southern Railroad)
  • $2.7 million jury verdict — age discrimination case against the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, following a ten-day trial
  • $1.4 million settlement — age discrimination claim on behalf of a factory manager
  • $1.2 million jury verdict — sex and age discrimination case on behalf of a State Highway employee who was wrongfully terminated after raising complaints
  • $500,000 settlement — sexual harassment and wrongful termination case filed in federal court
  • $363,000 jury verdict plus attorney’s fees — pregnancy discrimination and retaliation case in Kansas federal court (Lambing v. Berkley Insurance Company) (co-counsel with Larry Schumaker)
  • $300,000 settlement — wage theft and unpaid overtime on behalf of a healthcare worker

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case depends on its own facts and circumstances.

What Our Clients Say

“I would highly recommend Siro Smith Dickson. They were extremely helpful. They talked me through the process and communicated well along the way. They listened to my needs and followed through. They are the ones to get the job done for you.”

“If you are looking for attorneys with a great reputation and commitment, you should call the team at Siro Smith Dickson… My attorney was genuine, compassionate, understanding, firm, thorough, inquisitive, and always professional.”

“When I initially contacted Siro Smith Dickson, I was not sure that there was enough evidence to support my case. They were able to find information that I never knew existed. They believed in my case and more importantly believed in me. Thank you, Siro Smith Dickson, for the amazing result — my life has greatly been changed because of your dedication.” — Age Discrimination Client

Frequently Asked Questions

Potentially, yes. Employers often document pretextual performance reasons to justify a termination that is actually motivated by a workers’ comp claim or injury report. Bad-faith PIPs, sudden shifts in performance evaluations, and discipline that only began after an injury report are all patterns our attorneys know how to challenge.

Missouri courts have broadly interpreted the “exercise of rights” language. Reporting a workplace injury and seeking medical treatment are rights protected under Chapter 287, and retaliation for those acts may be actionable even without a formal claim having been filed. This is a fact-specific analysis, and you should speak with an attorney about your specific circumstances.

Generally, state employers — including school districts — do not enjoy sovereign immunity for § 287.780 claims. The Missouri Supreme Court held in Poke v. Independence School District (2022) that the Missouri legislature expressly waived whatever immunity public employers might have had under the statute.

Missouri courts have held that § 287.780 requires an existing employment relationship at the time of the discriminatory act. Post-employment retaliation by a former employer — such as refusing to rehire — may not be actionable under the statute as currently interpreted. However, you may have claims under other statutes. Speak with an attorney to evaluate all potential claims.

Local Resources and Governing Authorities

  • Missouri Division of Workers’ Compensation — handles underlying workers’ comp benefits claims; Kansas City office at 1410 Genessee Street, Suite 210, Kansas City, MO 64102 | (816) 889-2481
  • Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo § 287.780 — revisor.mo.gov — the text of the workers’ compensation retaliation statute
  • Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) — the appellate body for workers’ compensation determinations in Missouri
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri — federal court covering the Kansas City region, where federal employment claims may be filed in conjunction with state law claims

Contact Siro Smith Dickson PC

If you believe you have been retaliated against for filing a workers’ compensation claim or reporting a workplace injury in Missouri, the attorneys at Siro Smith Dickson PC want to hear from you. We are selective about the cases we take and will give your matter the serious personal attention it deserves.

Siro Smith Dickson PC
1621 Baltimore Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 471-4881
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We represent employees in Kansas City, Jackson County, Clay County, Platte County, Cass County, and throughout Missouri and Kansas.

The information on this page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different. Please contact our office to discuss the specific facts of your situation.