A new report from Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley says lawsuits against the state cost taxpayers at least $23 million last year.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a year-end report from Hawley, a Republican, showed that 16 of the 45 major payouts were related to employee discrimination, including six from cases involving workers at the Missouri Department of Corrections.
The report found the state paid out nearly $8.1 million in claims for employment discrimination and harassment by supervisors and co-workers.
The actual total may be higher. Democratic state Auditor Nicole Galloway, in a separate report, has cited millions of more dollars in legal expense at agencies that use their own attorneys in lawsuits.
