Proposition A FAQ

• • House Bill 567 was introduced to the Missouri House of Representatives on January 8th, 2024
  • Original intent of the bill was to amend the start date of the implementation of the PST policy created by Prop A from 5/1/25 to 1/1/26
  • Edited throughout early 2025, eventually becoming combined with House Bill 546, 758, & 958 to address both topics of the Prop A minimum wage increase and PST policy amendments
  • Final perfected form of the bill (Prior to passing a majority vote in the House and moving to the Senate):
    • Removed yearly increases of the Missouri minimum wage after the increase to $15/hour on 1/1/26
    • Repealed all of the PST statutes created by Prop A from Missouri Law
    • Implemented an Emergency Clause to the bill grouping – This would result in the bill taking immediate effect if passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor prior to the legislative session ending
  • Passed majority vote in the Missouri house on 3/13/25 – The emergency clause of the bill grouping failed to pass, resulting in regular implementation timeframes for the bill if ultimately signed into law
  • Currently in the Missouri Senate:
    • Amendment proposed increasing the minimum wage from $15/hour to $17/hour starting 1/1/26
    • Current revision also proposes that a failure to comply with the minimum wage provisions will result a class A misdemeanor to the employer

• • Arguments were heard on Wednesday, March 12, 2025
  • Claim has been made that Prop A failed to comply with Missouri Constitutional Law by nature of including two separate matters within the proposal; Missouri Constitutional Law mandates that proposed bills cannot contain more than one subject, to be clearly expressed in the bill title
    • This argument expands to state that the subject of both the minimum wage increases and an implementation of the PST policy violates the Constitutional Law
  • Other concerns presented were related to the fiscal impact of the proposition and alleged lack of clarity for both private businesses and the state as to the cost of implementation of the proposition
  • As of 4/25/25, no decision has been issued on this case

• • Yes, they do – A decision rescinding Prop A has not been made within the Missouri Supreme Court, and if passed, the House Bill 567 et al will not go into effect for at least 90 days following the signing of the bill into law. If this bill is fully signed into law prior to the end of the current legislative session, the effects of the bill will not take place until August this year.
    • Expanding on the House Bill implications; If the bill grouping does get signed into law, this would mean that from 5/1/25 until the effective date of the bill, employers would still be required to meet the compliance aspects of the PST proposal. Assuming the bill grouping maintains the repeal of the PST statutes, once in effect, the PST policy would go back into the hands of employers as an optional measure.

Paid Sick Time (PST) FAQ

• • Starting May 1st, 2025, eligible employees of privately owned Missouri businesses must begin accruing paid sick time at a rate of 1 hour earned for every 30 hours worked. For example:
    • Suppose the 1st pay schedule that will contain 5/1/25 for your company will look like the following:
      • Pay period: 4/28/25 – 5/9/25, with a pay date of 5/16/25
      • Work performed by your employees from 5/1/25 – 5/9/25 will be subject to the PST rules
      • If, during this period (5/1 – 5/9), an employee puts in 45 hours, they will accrue 1.5 hours of paid sick time
        • 45 hours * .033 (1 hour of PST earned for every 30 hours worked = .033 hours of PST earned per hour worked) = 1.5 total PST hours accrued
  • Employers must allow up to 40 hours of PST that can be used during a calendar year if the company has less than 15 employees
  • Employers with 15 or more employees must allow up to 56 hours of PST that can be used in a calendar year
    • This is under the assumption that the employee has saved up enough time to meet these limits. Below, we go into the possibility of rolling over unused PST time at the end of the calendar year

• • If your policy already meets the minimum requirements set out by Prop A, then you do not need to institute an additional policy or provide “bonus” PST. If your policy does not meet the minimum requirements, you must bring it up to the standards outlined above

• • Employers who fail to maintain the minimum standards will be subject to a class C misdemeanor – However, as a fair warning, this is being argued in the Senate currently to be increased to a class A misdemeanor

• • Employers have two options for calculating PST if their employees are paid with multiple different rates:
    • The employer can pay the employee based on exactly what they would have been doing during the time they were sick
    • The employer can pay a weighted average of the rates for jobs that were worked by the employee during the last pay period:
      • Suppose, during the last pay period, the employee worked two separate jobs, both with different pay rates.  During the current pay period, they used 10 hours of PST.
        • Job 1: Worked 20 hours at $15 per hour
        • Job 2: Worked 5 hours at $25 per hour
          • Weighted average:
            • Job 1: (20/25)*15 = 12
            • Job 2: (5/25)*25 = 5
              • Weighted average hourly rate: 12 + 5 = $17/hour
              • Weighted average to pay for the PST hours used: 17 * 10 = $170.00

• • This is determined by dividing the wages earned by the employee in the previous period by the total hours worked. For salaried employees, this is determined as 40 hours per week, unless the normal working week for them is less than 40 hours – In that case, divide by the regular hours worked per work week

• • Yes, they are. Employees must be able to roll over up to 80 hours of PST at the end of the calendar year
  • Employers can, however, opt to pay employees for any unused PST up to 80 hours at the end of the calendar year
    • If this route is selected, though, employers must also provide the employee with an amount of immediately useable PST that meets the requirements of MO law at the start of the new calendar year

• • Employee or family member of employee has a mental/physical illness, injury, or health condition
  • Employee or family member requires medical care, diagnosis, treatment, or preventative care
  • Place of employment has been ordered to close due to a public health emergency
  • Care is needed for a child whose school has been ordered to close for the same
  • Attending matters of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking

• • Only hours worked in Missouri qualify as hours that must accrue PST

• • Tipped employees must be paid by either their regular hourly rate or the state minimum wage, whichever is higher
  • Tips can’t be deducted from PST pay

Minimum Wage FAQ

• • Per prop A, as of the 1st of this year, it’s $13.75 per hour
  • Next year, it is supposed to increase by $1.25 per hour, bringing the minimum up to $15/hour

• • Yes, it is. Currently, Senate legislature (Brought forth by Senator Beck) is attempting to increase next year’s minimum to $17/hour
  • On the legal front, plaintiffs are considering the discussion of minimum wage adjustments in Prop A as a separate subject matter from the implementation of the PST policy, which is claimed to violate Missouri’s Constitution which states bills can only contain one subject at a time

• • Prop A’s language says that the minimum wage, each year, will be either increased or decreased based on the Consumer Price Index, rounded to the nearest $.05

• • No, it does not; Public employers are not subject to this portion of Prop A; Either the state itself as an employer, a division of the state, a city/county/town/village, or school district

Conclusion

Prop A is a hot button topic for Missouri. Interests from multiple groups are meeting over the details, figures, implementations, and impacts resulting from its passing back in November. From our end – We’ll stay up-to-date to hopefully provide you with any major events or information surrounding it as they become solidified – May 1st, next Thursday, is one of those events. It will be interesting to see how the details from this unfold, and if changes ultimately are made to the original proposition, how the voting base will react. Until next time!

Disclaimer: The content on this blog is for informational, educational, and occasional entertainment purposes only. It should not be construed as legal, tax, or financial advice.