A coalition of Missouri business advocacy groups says it is exploring multiple avenues to challenge the implementation of Proposition A — a measure Missouri voters approved Tuesday that would raise the state’s minimum wage and guarantee sick leave for some workers.
The measure passed with 58% of the vote and had the support of various labor unions and advocacy groups, social justice and civil rights organizations, more than 500 state business owners and others.
The minimum wage will increase to $13.75 in January and then to $15 in 2026. Paid sick leave provisions take effect next May.
Hoping to block implementation of the changes is a coalition of business advocacy groups – Associated Industries of Missouri, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Missouri Grocers Association, Missouri Restaurant Association, Missouri Retailers Association and the National Federation of Independent Business.
The coalition is “explore[ing] all available options, including possible legal action,” according to a statement released Wednesday.
“We are deeply disappointed by the passage of Proposition A,” the groups wrote, adding that the measure will increase costs for consumers and employers and “presents a legal risk to all employers,” providing a cause of action for employees to sue.
The focus of concern among these business advocacy groups has been the sick leave portion of the proposal, arguing that it limits a business owner’s freedom to make their own decisions and opens them up to liability if they don’t follow the requirements.
Ray McCarty, The CEO of Associated Industries of Missouri said in an interview with The Independent that the groups are considering a lawsuit to challenge the law on the grounds that it does not meet the state constitution’s single-entity requirements because benefits and wages are separate issues. They are also looking to advocate for legislative changes when the General Assembly convenes in January.
“We will look at the legal challenge first,” McCarty said. “If we’re not successful with that, or we’re not able to get it off the ground, or we don’t believe we have that high of a chance of success, then yes, we will look at bills to try to mitigate some of the problems we see with it .”
Supporters of the measure, incl Richard Von Glahn, campaign manager for Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages, say efforts to overthrow or weaken it are unlikely to succeed. Von Glahn said wages and benefits are part of total compensation, so they fall under the single entity requirement. He added that there were several opportunities for the group to express an opinion with concerns about the language earlier, and they did not.
“They ran a campaign to convince voters to reject this. They lost,” Von Glahn said. “And so the idea of a lawsuit now seems a bit frivolous to me and a waste of time and resources.” They’d better make sure they’re educating their community and businesses about the law’s requirements and help ensure smooth implementation.”
Because the measure changes state law but not the constitution, the legislature can modify or repeal it without going back for a new vote of the people.
In 2018, after the state passed a minimum wage increase, some business interest groups advocated unsuccessfully for lawmakers to change parts of it, Von Glahn said, “and it could happen again.”
“If I’m a politician, I know I have a limited time in Jefferson City. There is a limited amount of bills that can be heard and voted on,” he said. “Subverting the will of Missouri voters should not be high on the list.”
McCarty said the wide margin of passage could make it challenging to convince lawmakers to change the law.
“For 58 to 42, it’s very difficult for any legislator, even the experienced ones who have been around for a long time, it’s very difficult for them to go against the will of the people, and we understand that,” he said. . “Some lawmakers might look at this and walk away, we don’t want to mess with it at all because the percentage was so high in support of it.”
Business leaders “have good reasons why we would want to change that,” McCarty said. But while they could try to push a bill through the legislature, he said they would prefer to “finish it in passage and just take it out” through the court process.
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Paid sick leave measures were also passed in Alaska and Nebraska, bringing the number of states with such laws to 18.
The details of the law are similar to those in states that have already adopted policies to expand access to paid sick leave. Employees can begin accruing and using sick time on May 1, 2025, earning one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to five days per year for small businesses (those with fewer than 15 employees) and seven days per year for larger businesses. Csome workers are exempt and are listed in the full text of the law, including those employed on a “casual” childcare basis, workers employed in a private dwelling who occasionally work six hours or less, and those who work in retail or service in a business that annually earns less than $500,000 in annual gross volume sales.
Von Glahn said that during the search, the workers found common ground in their identity with other workers — regardless of party affiliation — who also have the experience of having to leave work to pick up their sick children from school.
“And immediately what I get is people shaking their heads, ‘yeah, I’ve got that too’ and saying, it doesn’t make sense that some workers should be penalized because they have to. “
Alejandro Gallardo, a restaurant prep chef in Colombia who was involved in the campaign, said people he spoke to were surprised to hear “what it’s really like in the restaurant industry” and some were surprised to hear that the minimum wage it’s not already $15. .
Co-workers come into work sick “all the time,” he said, in his experience in the restaurant industry. A colleague who had the stomach flu, he recalls, came to work saying “My stomach tells me to stay home, but my wallet tells me to come to work.”
Gallardo will be eligible for sick leave for the first time in his career in May. He will no longer have to choose between going unpaid or coming in sick, calling it a “big improvement for many workers in the state.”
The ballot measure would guarantee sick leave for the 728,000 workers who currently lack it statewide, or more than 1 in 3 Missouri workers, according to an analysis by the progressive nonprofit Missouri Budget Project.
The minimum wage increase is slated to affect over 562,000 workers in the state, according to the Missouri Budget Projector nearly one in four workers.
“This is a vital part of the community that is not being treated the way it should be treated,” Gallardo said. And I think this proposal will go a long way toward fixing that.”
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