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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2674
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE JOHNSON.
5748H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 285, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to mental health
leave.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 285, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 285.680, to read as follows:
285.680. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Employ", the act of employing or the state of being employed, engaged, or
3 hir ed to perform work or services of any kind or character within the state of Missouri;
4 (2) "Employee", any person performing work or service of any kind or
5 character for hire within the state of Missouri;
6 (3) "Employee benefit plan", an employee welfar e benefit plan or an employee
7 pension benefit plan or a plan that is both an employee welfare benefit plan and an
8 employee pension benefit plan;
9 (4) "Employer", any person that employs at least one employee, except that the
10 term "employer" shall not include any public employer , as defined in section 285.525;
11 (5) "Employment benefits", all benefits pr ovided or made available to employees
12 by an employer , including life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick
13 leave, annual leave, educational benefits, pensions, and profit -sharing, rega rdless of
14 whether such benefits are pr ovided by a practice or written policy of an employer or
15 thr ough an employee benefit plan;
16 (6) "Health car e pr ovider", the same meaning given to the term in section
17 376.1350;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 (7) "Mental health appointment", any visit lasting less than four hours with a
19 health care pr ovider to tr eat a mental disorder or mental illness, as those terms are
20 defined in section 630.005;
21 (8) "Person", an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business
22 trust, legal r epresent ative, or any organized grou p of persons;
23 (9) "W ork", any job, task, labor , service, or other activity for which
24 compensation is prov ided, expected, or due.
25 2. An employee may take unpaid leave fro m work to attend mental health
26 appointments. An employee shall be entitled to unpaid leave for at least one mental
27 health appointment each week.
28 3. The pr ovisions of this section shall not crea te a right for an employee to take
29 unpaid leave that exceeds the amount of unpaid leave time allowed under the federal
30 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Section 2601 et seq.).
31 4. The employee shall pr ovide the employer with at least forty-eight hours'
32 advance notice of the employee's intention to take leave under this section unless
33 pr oviding such notice is not practicable. When an unscheduled absence occurs, the
34 employer shall not take any action against the employee if the employee, upon re quest of
35 the employer and within a reas onable period after the absence, pr ovides certification
36 under subsection 5 of this section.
37 5. The employer may req uire the employee to pro vide certification to the
38 employer that the leave is for a mental health appointment. The employee shall provi de
39 such certification to the employer within a re asonable period after the employer
40 r equests certification.
41 6. An employee may satisfy the certification requ irem ent of subsection 5 of this
42 section by provid ing to the employer a sworn statement of the employee and
43 documentation fr om the health care pro vider who tr eated the employee at the mental
44 health appointment.
45 7. All information pr ovided to the employer under subsection 6 of this section,
46 including a statement of the employee or any other documentation, reco rd, or
47 corr oborating evidence, and the fact that the employee has re quested or obtained leave
48 under this section, shall be r etained in the strictest confidence by the employer , except to
49 the extent that disclosur e is requ ested or consented to in writing by the employee or
50 otherwise req uired by applicable federal or state law .
51 8. Every employer shall annually notify its employees of the requi rem ents of this
52 section.
53 9. Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any prov ision of a
54 federal, state, or local law , collective bargaining agreement, or employment benefits
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55 pr ogram or plan that pr ovides great er leave benefits with res pect to mental health
56 appointments than the rights established under this section.
57 10. The rights and rem edies established for employees under this section shall
58 not be diminished by any federal, state, or local law , collective bargaining agre ement, or
59 employment benefits pr ogram or plan.
✔
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