Missourians vote to raise minimum wage, demand paid sick leave • Missouri Independent

An effort to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour and guarantee paid sick leave won the support of Missouri voters Tuesday night.

Proposition A was approved by Missouri voters 58% to 41%.

The approval follows a trend of Missourians using the initiative petition process to raise the minimum wage — and more broadly, of Missourians using that process to advance policies that conflict with the beliefs of the state's Republican-dominated Legislature.

Proposal A was supported by various unions and employee advocacy groups, social justice and civil rights organizations, over 500 state-owned entrepreneurs and other.

Some business groups, including the state Chamber of Commerce, have spoken out against it, particularly the guaranteed sick leave share. But there was no coordinated opposition campaign.

The campaign in favor of the measure, titled Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages, raised nearly $6 million — including from out-of-state groups that do not disclose their donors — and collected 210,000 signatures to bring the issue to the national ballot.

The current minimum wage in Missouri is $12.30, which is $492 per week before taxes. The ballot measure would increase the state's minimum wage to $13.75 next year and $15 in January 2026.

According to the Missouri Budget Project, the increase would affect over 562,000 workers in the state, or nearly one in four workers. The minimum wage would be adjusted for inflation every year starting in 2026.

Voters approved a minimum wage increase in 2006 with 75% of the vote, and again in 2018 with 62% of the vote.

And companies must provide one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to five days per year for small businesses and seven days per year for larger businesses. Small businesses are those with fewer than 15 employees.

The paid sick leave policy will come into effect on May 1, 2025.

Without sick leave, advocates argue, workers must choose between their financial and physical well-being — going to work sick or losing the paycheck they need.

Missouri joins 15 states that require employers to provide paid sick leave. Unlike almost every other country, the United States does not have federal paid sick leave, so both states and cities have taken the lead.

Some business groups have expressed alarm over sick leave provisions in particular, saying the proposal represents an overreach by the government in making decisions that should be left to business owners.

At the same time, a coalition of hundreds of business leaders in the state have joined in supporting the ballot measure, arguing that the measures will benefit their bottom lines by leading to lower employee turnover, higher productivity and better health and safety conditions.

The ballot measure would change state law but not the Constitution, meaning lawmakers could repeal it, but those on both sides of the issue told The Independent last month that they think that is unlikely.