Legal Challenges to Missouri Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave

Missouri Passes Proposition A: Minimum Wage Increase and Paid Sick Leave

In November of 2024, Missouri voters passed Proposition A which increased the state’s minimum wage to $13.75 per hour starting Jan. 1, 2025 with additional increases annually thereafter and requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees starting May 1, 2025. 

Legal Challenges to Missouri’s Proposition A

Missouri business groups have challenged the passage of this ballot measure by filing a lawsuit in December 2024 with the Missouri Supreme Court. The lawsuit challenges the ballot measure on the following grounds: 

• The Missouri Constitution requires ballot initiatives to contain a single subject. Proposition A contains at least two clear, unrelated subjects – minimum wage and earned sick leave. 

• The Missouri Constitution requires the title of the ballot measure to clearly express its single subject. Proposition A’s title is unclear and contains multiple subjects. 

• The ballot measure’s summary statement and fiscal note summary, which is an estimate of the ballot measure’s financial impact on state and local governments, are misleading and insufficient. 

• By exempting government entities and certain workers, Proposition A violates the Equal Protection Clause. 

The Current Status of Proposition A

Employment and Constitutional law experts opine that the lawsuit is unlikely to prevail, however it continues to grind through the courts. And until the lawsuit is decided or dropped, the minimum wage increase is in effect and the paid sick leave requirements remain pending their May 1, 2025 start date. 

Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ballot Measures Across the U.S.

• Alaska: voters approved their ballot measure increasing minimum wage to $15 by July 1, 2027 and requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to employees effective July 1, 2025.  

• Nebraska: voters approved their ballot measure requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to employees but did not pass the ballot measure increasing minimum wage.

• Arizona: voters rejected a ballot measure that would have allowed tipped workers to be paid 25% less than the minimum wage as long as their tips and base pay combined placed their total pay above the minimum wage threshold. 

• Massachusetts: voters defeated a ballot measure that would have raised their minimum wage for tipped workers until it reached the standard minimum wage for employees in the state. 

• California: And in a surprise result, California voters voted against increasing the state’s minimum wage. 

Employers in states who have passed minimum wage increases and/or requirements for employers to provide paid sick leave to employees should ensure compliance with the changes that took place on Jan 1, 2025 and prepare for the upcoming requirements this year. 

Need Additional Support for Minimum Wage and Paid Leave Compliance?

For help navigating these new minimum wage and paid leave updates at both the state and local levels, check out GovDocs Minimum Wage and GovDocs Paid Leave.