The Missouri Attorney General's office says taxpayers spent more than $24 million in 2019 on lawsuits against the state.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the $24.2 million paid in 2019 by the Legal Expense Fund is down from the $28.8 million paid in 2018. Many of the large layouts stem from employee discrimination and harassment cases brought against the Missouri Department of Corrections.
The total spent in 2020 could skyrocket because the state hasn't paid out $113.7 million to 13,000 current and former correctional officers who won a class-action case in Cole County over unpaid overtime.
