Missouri Republicans consider delaying voter-approved minimum wage hike, paid sick leave

Yahoo

05-02-2025

Buddy Lahl, chief executive officer of the Missouri Restaurant Association, testifies in favor of a bill to limit the impact of the minimum wage law that took effect Jan. 1. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Indepenent)
A bill changing the terms of the Missouri minimum wage law approved by voters four months ago will leave all the promised benefits in place but may delay their implementation, the chairman of a House committee looking at the law said Wednesday.
State Rep. David Casteel, a High Ridge Republican, told members of the House Commerce Committee during a hearing that they will rewrite the several bills seeking to change Proposition A. That process will take time, he said, telling them not to expect a vote at the panel's regular meeting next week.
'No one in this body is trying to overturn the choice of the people,' Casteel said.
In an interview, Casteel said he's considering ideas that would delay a minimum wage increase set for Jan. 1, 2026, or the provision requiring most employers to offer paid sick and family leave.
'We're going to get into the nitty gritty of everything within the bill,' Casteel said. 'There's a lot we don't like, and there's a lot we do like, about all the bills that have been and will be presented.'
Republicans who control the legislature must find a sweet spot between the 58% majority who approved Proposition A and the major business groups who opposed the measure and are among the GOP's most reliable supporters.
Proposition A increased the minimum wage in Missouri to $13.75 an hour on Jan. 1 and $15 an hour next year. In future years, the wage would be adjusted for changes in prices, a provision that has been in state law since 2006. It also requires employers with business receipts greater than $500,000 a year to provide one hour of paid sick and family time for every 30 hours worked.
The paid leave provisions take effect May 1.
On Wednesday, the Commerce Committee held public hearings on two of the five bills on its agenda that would alter aspects of Proposition A.
One of the bills, filed by state Rep. Carolyn Caton, a Republican from Blue Springs, would repeal the inflation adjustment. It would also allow employers to pay workers younger than 20 the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and exempt all employers with business receipts less than $10 million annually.
'It isn't that we don't want to pay people,' Caton said. 'We want to pay people well, but we need to do so in a manner that is going to protect our small businesses.'
The other bill, filed by state Rep. Scott Miller, a Republican from St. Charles, would exempt workers under 21 from the state minimum wage and businesses with fewer than 50 employees. It would also allow employers to reduce the final paycheck of anyone who doesn't give at least two weeks notice before quitting, or any employee who violates the provisions of the employer's worker handbook.
'If a business is going to be obligated by law to pay a minimum wage, which is, frankly, the government is price-fixing labor, then the government ought to performance-fix the employees,' Miller said.
The campaign to pass Proposition A drew no large-scale opposition prior to the vote. But a court challenge filed in early December by major business advocacy groups asks the Missouri Supreme Court to invalidate the vote. The court has set the case for arguments on March 12.
At the same time, those business groups — Associated Industries of Missouri, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and industry groups representing retailers, restaurants and grocers — are urging lawmakers to repeal portions or delay their implementation.
'In an ideal world, we would love to roll it all back,' Kara Corches, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a recent webinar. 'But part of the legislative process, or the sausage making process as we say sometimes, you don't always get, in the end, what you started with.'
Ron Berry, lobbyist for one of Proposition A's biggest backers, Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, said during Wednesday's hearing that the proposals to exempt businesses with fewer than 50 employees would cover 96% of all private businesses.
Responding to a question about the difficulty employers will have covering the additional cost, Berry said labor isn't the only thing driving up prices.
'Whether it's wages or it's the cost of energy, all of you know inflation is higher, and we're all having to tighten our belts,' Berry said.
Buddy Lahl, CEO of the Missouri Restaurant Association, told the committee that his members want the exemption threshold raised to 100 employees as well as implementing the $10 million revenue floor.
He also said the sick leave provisions should not allow hours to be carried over from one year to the other.
'It should be a use it or lose it thing,' Lahl said.
Business lobbyists also warned of job losses, or even businesses that won't survive, if the increased minimum wage stands.
State Rep. Steve Butz, a Democrat from St. Louis, said he didn't believe that argument, noting that Missouri voters increased the minimum wage twice before without sinking the state's economy.
'We've had other increases in minimum wage,' Butz said. 'We always have been told that it's going to kill jobs and jobs continue to grow in the state.'
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