Background
As we explained in our previous client alert, on November 5, 2024, Missouri voters approved Proposition A by over 57%, which increased the Missouri Minimum Wage to $13.75, effective January 1, 2025, and increased it to $15.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2026. Thereafter, Proposition A provided that the Missouri Minimum Wage would be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index. Further, Proposition A required that most Missouri non-governmental employers provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, effective May 1, 2025. Proposition A also required that Missouri employers post and send a notice regarding paid sick leave to employees by April 15, 2025.
Repeal of Missouri Paid Sick Leave
As we explained in our client alert on May 16, 2025, on May 14, 2025, the Missouri Senate passed Missouri House Bill 567 (HB 567) which effectively repealed Missouri Paid Sick Leave, effective August 28, 2025, when HB 567 was signed by Governor Mike Kehoe on July 10, 2025.
Amendments to Missouri Minimum Wage Law
HB 567 does not change Proposition A's increase of the Missouri minimum wage to $13.75 per hour effective January 1, 2025 and its further increase to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. However, HB 567 did repeal the portions of Proposition A that required mandatory adjustments to the minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index, which were set to begin on January 1, 2027 and continue each January 1 in successive years.
HB 567 also amended the Missouri Minimum Wage Law to specify that, as of August 28, 2025, public employers (the State of Missouri, political subdivisions of the State of Missouri, including a department, agency, officer, bureau, division, board, commission, or instrumentality of the state or a city, county, town, village, school district, or other political subdivision of the state) would also be required to pay the Missouri minimum wage.
What Employers Should Do
Non-governmental employers need to comply with Missouri's Paid Sick Leave law until August 28, 2025, including tracking paid sick leave that employees accrue and use. We are prepared to assist Missouri employers with advice regarding compliance with Proposition A and how to handle sick leave and PTO policies in light of this legislative change. There are not only legal issues but also employee relations issues to be considered, including how to communicate these changes in the law and shifting paid sick leave law requirements in the middle of the year.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
