In November, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing paid leave and a higher minimum wage. Now businesses hope the Missouri Supreme Court will strike it down.
Proposition A was passed by 57.6% of voters in the November election. It includes raising Missouri’s minimum hourly wage to $15 and guaranteeing paid time off. The amount of compensated leave depends on time worked and the employer’s size.
Organizations representing businesses in Missouri joined in a lawsuit with the goal of invalidating Proposition A. According to court documents, they claim the election results must be overturned due to “irregularities” and “constitutional violations.”
Ray McCarty is president and CEO of Associated Industries of Missouri — one of the plaintiffs. He said the measure's ballot title left out important aspects of the measure.
“The Missouri Constitution requires a single subject which must be clearly stated in the title,” McCarty said. “We believe Proposition A violated that because it covered both minimum wage, paid sick leave and paid domestic violence leave, which was not even mentioned in the ballot title.”
Plaintiffs also plan to address the measure's fiscal note summary. The state auditor prepares this short document to include potential financial impacts on the government.
“It doesn't actually even mention cost or savings to local government,” plaintiff attorney Marc Ellinger said. “Furthermore, there were local governments that advised that there were costs, and those costs were not included in the fiscal note summary.”
Unless struck down by the state Supreme Court, the paid leave portion of Proposition A will go into effect on May 1 and the $15 minimum wage on January 1, 2026.
While next week’s hearing is focused only on the measure's legal validity, court documents filed by the plaintiffs say it’s a “bad policy and will have extreme and detrimental effects on Missouri’s businesses.”
Dan Shaul is executive state director of Missouri Grocers Association. He said the more concerning part of the ballot measure is requiring employers to guarantee paid sick leave.
“I need to have some certainty of when employees will be in and out,” Shaul said. “Not just deciding to take time off when it's convenient for them but not convenient for the employer.”
Shaul also said he hopes for a decision before the sick leave goes into effect in May.
“If the Supreme Court doesn't rule by May 1, the train has left the station,” Shaul said. “I'd be very disappointed if they didn't rule very quickly.”
The state Supreme Court will listen to arguments for and against Proposition A on March 12. Hearings begin at 9 a.m.
