JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — About six weeks after he vetoed legislation that would have changed the state's workers' compensation system, Missouri's Democratic governor is signaling that he would be open to compromise with Republican lawmakers.

In a letter to Senate leaders obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Gov. Jay Nixon indicated he would sign legislation that would prevent employees from suing their co-workers for on-the-job injuries. The governor also said he would support a provision to the system to include deadly diseases contracted on the job.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed similar legislation earlier this year, but Nixon vetoed the measure in mid-March. The governor said then that moving occupational diseases to the workers' compensation system — instead of allowing such cases to be resolved in court — would take away workers' ability to be adequately paid for diseases that could ultimately take their life.