Missouri's new minimum wage law to take effect amid challenges

Proposition A, the minimum wage and sick leave ballot initiative passed by voters in November, is slated to go into effect starting this week as the new year begins, but legal challenges cast a cloud on the future of the law.

Roughly 57.6% of voters gave the nod on Nov. 5 to Prop A, according to past reporting, and most immediately, an increase in the minimum wage to $13.75 per hour takes effect Jan. 1. The law includes an increase of $1.25 per hour in 2026, bringing the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and thereafter, the minimum wage would again be adjusted each January based on the consumer price index.

Proposition A also includes a requirement that all employers provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked by an employee, with enforcement and oversight by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Governmental entities, political subdivisions, school districts and educational institutions are exempt, per the ballot language.

Under the law, employees are scheduled to start accruing paid sick time on May 1, and employers must provide written notice of the paid sick time by April 15, according to information posted in November by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Missouri chamber on Dec. 6 joined with Associated Industries of Missouri, the Missouri Forest Products Association, the Missouri Grocers Association, the Missouri Restaurant Association and the National Federation of Independent Business to file a petition that challenges the Prop A election results.

A news release announced the challenge with the Missouri Supreme Court, with plaintiffs seeking to overturn the voter-approved law based on allegations that include the following: two subjects included in a single proposition, contrary to the Missouri Constitution requiring a single subject on ballot initiatives; an unclear title of the ballot measure; a misleading and insufficient ballot measure summary; and violations of the Equal Protection Clause through its exemption of government entities and certain workers.

“While Proposition A is bad policy and will have extreme and detrimental effects on Missouri’s businesses, that is not the basis of this action,” the petition states. “Instead, the election irregularities and the constitutional violations are so significant that the election results must be overturned and Proposition A must be declared invalid.”

In response to the challenge, Prop A supporters at the Missouri Workers Center reportedly said of the lawsuit "that corporations are trying to steal our victory away."

At least three bills that would restrict provisions of Prop A have been prefiled by Missouri legislators ahead of the upcoming legislative session, according to reporting by The Beacon.