As used in sections 285.625 to 285.670, the following terms mean:

(1) “Abuse”, the same meaning as in section 210.110;

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(2) “Director”, the director of the department of labor and industrial relations;

(3) “Domestic violence”, the same meaning as in section 455.010;

(4) “Employ”, the act of employing or state of being employed, engaged, or hired to perform work or services of any kind or character within the state of Missouri;

(5) “Employee”, any person performing work or service of any kind or character for hire within the state of Missouri;

(6) “Employer”, the state or any agency of the state, political subdivision of the state, or any person that employs at least twenty employees;

(7) “Employee benefit plan” or “plan”, an employee welfare benefit plan or an employee pension benefit plan or a plan that is both an employee welfare benefit plan and an employee pension benefit plan;

(8) “Employment benefits”, all benefits provided or made available to employees by an employer, including life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits, pensions, and profit-sharing, regardless of whether such benefits are provided by a practice or written policy of an employer or through an employee benefit plan;

(9) “Family or household member”, for employees with a family or household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, a spouse, parent, son, daughter, other person related by blood or by present or prior marriage, other person who shares a relationship through a son or daughter, and persons jointly residing in the same household;

(10) “Parent”, the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence;

(11) “Person”, an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons;

(12) “Public agency”, the government of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, any agency of the state or of any political subdivision of the state, or any other governmental agency;

(13) “Public assistance”, includes cash, food stamps, medical assistance, housing assistance, and other benefits provided on the basis of income by a public agency or public employer;

(14) “Qualified individual”, in the case of:

(a) An applicant or employee of an employer, an individual who, but for being a victim of domestic or sexual violence or with a family or household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires; or

(b) An applicant for or recipient of public assistance from a public agency, an individual who, but for being a victim of domestic or sexual violence or with a family or household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence, can satisfy the essential requirements of the program providing the public assistance that the individual receives or desires;

(15) “Reasonable safety accommodation”, an adjustment to a job structure, workplace facility, or work requirement, including a transfer, reassignment, modified schedule, leave, a changed telephone number or seating assignment, installation of a lock, implementation of a safety procedure, or assistance in documenting domestic violence that occurs at the workplace or in work-related settings, in response to actual or threatened domestic violence. Any exigent circumstances or danger facing the employee or his or her family or household member shall be considered in determining whether the accommodation is reasonable;

(16) “Reduced work schedule”, a work schedule that reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours per workday, of an employee;

(17) “Sexual violence”, a sexual assault, as defined in section 455.010, and trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation as described in section 566.209;

(18) “Son or daughter”, a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is under eighteen years of age, or is eighteen years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability and is a victim of domestic or sexual violence;

(19) “Undue hardship”, significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of the nature and cost of the reasonable safety accommodation;

(20) “Victim of domestic or sexual violence”, an individual who has been subjected to domestic violence, sexual violence, or abuse;

(21) “Victim services organization”, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that provides assistance to victims of domestic violence or to advocates for such victims, including a rape crisis center, a child advocacy center, an organization carrying out a domestic violence program, an organization operating a shelter or providing counseling services, or a legal services organization or other organization providing assistance through the legal process;

(22) “Work”, any job, task, labor, services, or any other activity for which compensation is provided, expected, or due.