Sally E Barker

Sally Barker received her law degree from St. Louis University (J.D., cum laude) in 1976 where she served as Editor of the Law Journal. She focuses on Labor, Public Sector, Education and Employment Discrimination law. She represented the prevailing unions in Independence National Education Association v. Independence School District, in which the Missouri Supreme Court held that public employees have a state constitutional right to engage in collective bargaining. Subsequently, she has represented police and teacher unions in negotiating first labor agreements and litigation to enforce their collective bargaining rights. Sally is a co-author of Federal and State Law Governing Public Employees, 2008, Missouri Bar, (and earlier editions of that publication) and frequently gives speeches on a variety of labor and employment law subjects, including the union's role in responding to sexual harassment complaints and Missouri public sector labor law. She is a member of the Lawyers Coordinating Committee of the AFL-CIO (former Board member). She was the recipient of the 2001 Daily Record "Woman Lawyer of the Year" award, elected to the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and has been listed in the publications, Kansas/Missouri Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America for a number of years. In 2015 and 2016, she was listed as one of Missouri’s top 50 women lawyers and has received the highest possible rating from Martindale-Hubble at AV Preeminent.  In January 2019, Sally was inducted into the Saint Louis University School of Law Order of the Fleur de Lis Hall of Fame.

Sally has an interest in mental health issues both from a legal and also philanthropic standpoint.  She serves on the Board of Directors of Mental Health of America of Eastern Missouri (“MHA”).  She has received awards for her efforts to improve mental health care from MHA and the St. Louis Gateway Center for Giving.