Wengler v. Druggists Mutual Insurance

This case challenges under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment a provision of the Missouri workers’ compensation laws, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.240 (Supp. 1979), which is claimed to involve an invalid gender-based discrimination.

I

The facts are not in dispute. On February 11, 1977, Ruth Wengler, wife of appellant Paul J. Wengler, died in a work-related accident in the parking lot of her employer, appellee Dicus Prescription Drugs, Inc. Appellant filed a claim for death benefits under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.240 (Supp. 1979) ,1 *144under which a widower is not entitled to death…