Taylor v. St. Louis Cty. Bd. of Election Comm'rs., No. 09-3714

Employment Action Against State Election Board

In Taylor v. St. Louis Cty. Bd. of Election Comm'rs., No. 09-3714, an action against the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners in their official and individual capacities for wrongful discharge under Missouri common law and for a violation of the Equal Pay Act, the court affirmed summary judgment for defendants where 1) Missouri law allowed a former employee to maintain a public-policy wrongful discharge cause of action only against a former employer; and 2) defendant did not produce any evidence to show that the Commissioners, when acting in their individual capacities, had the right to, or did in fact, exercise any of these indicia of control.

As the court wrote:  "Judith A. Taylor, the former Democratic Director of Elections in St. Louis
County, brought claims against the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners ("Board") and against Commissioners John J. Diehl, Jr., William Miller, Jr., Anita Yeckel, and Chaim H. Zimbalist ("Commissioners") in their official and individual capacities for wrongful discharge under Missouri common law and for a violation of the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 206(d), 215(a)(3). The Board and Commissioners removed the case to federal court."

Related Resources

• Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in Taylor v. St. Louis Cty. Bd. of Election Comm'rs., No. 09-3714