Supreme Court of Missouri

Travis Poke v. Independence School District

July 12, 2022

Summary

The Supreme Court of Missouri reversed the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings, holding that Missouri’s Workers’ Compensation Law expressly waives sovereign immunity for school districts in retaliation claims. The Court reasoned that the statutory language creating a private right of action and defining school districts as employers demonstrates legislative intent to waive immunity, overruling prior cases that said otherwise.