New Paid Sick/Safe Leave Requirements for Missouri Employers in 2025
On November 5, 2024, Missouri voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition A, increasing the state's minimum wage and requiring most Missouri employers to provide mandatory paid sick leave for Missouri employees beginning May 1, 2025.
Under the new law, most Missouri employees will be entitled to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Moreover, the new law does not include a maximum amount of sick leave an employee can accrue. However, depending upon the employer's size, employers may cap the amount of leave that can be used by an employee in a year—56 hours for large employers and 40 hours for small employers. The law also includes various requirements and restrictions, some of which include:
- Covered Uses: Employees may use paid sick leave to care for their own physical or mental health, to care for a family member's physical or mental health, while the employee's place of business or their child's school/place of care is closed due to a public health emergency, or, in certain circumstances, due to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
- Posting, Notice and Record Keeping Requirements: Employers must display a notice in a prominent location at the workplace that informs employees of their rights under Proposition A. Employers will also be required to provide written notice about paid sick leave within 14 days of the commencement of employment or April 15, 2025 (whichever is later). Employers must maintain records documenting hours worked and earned paid sick time taken by employees for at least three years.
- Carryover Requirements: Employers must allow employees to carry over at least 80 hours of accrued, but unused, sick leave from year to year.
- Frontloading: Under the new law, employers are allowed to frontload sick leave for employees.
- Current Paid Time Off Policies: The law expressly allows for employers to use their current paid time off policies to satisfy the paid sick leave requirement provided that the employer makes available a sufficient amount of leave to meet the accrual requirements of the new law and that such leave can be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as leave provided by Proposition A.
For enforcement, the law provides employees with the right to file a lawsuit if their employer fails to provide the required sick leave or the employee is retaliated against for exercising their rights under the new law. These lawsuits can include potential monetary penalties, double damages and payment of the employee's attorneys' fees.
It is anticipated that the law will be challenged either in the courts and/or the Missouri Legislature. Additionally, the Missouri Department of Labor will likely issue regulations and/or informal guidance clarifying certain issues raised by the new law.
Employers are encouraged to reach out to their Stinson attorney to ensure they remain updated on the law—including any legal challenges—and to address any compliance issues before the law potentially goes into effect.
For more information on the new paid sick/safe leave requirements, please contact Maya Cherayil, Ashley Dillon, Molly Keppler, Pat Konopka, Stephanie Scheck, Sara Welch, Ben Woodard or the Stinson LLP contact with whom you regularly work.
