A coalition of Missouri business advocacy groups says it is exploring multiple avenues to challenge the implementation of Proposition A, a measure Missouri voters passed 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, over 500 state-owned enterprise owners, and more.
The minimum wage will increase to $13.75 in January and then to $15 in 2026. The paid sick leave provisions go into 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 of independent business.
The coalition is “explor[ing] all available options, including possible legal action,” according to a statement released on Wednesday.
“We are deeply disappointed by the passage of Proposition A,” the groups wrote, adding that the measure would increase costs for consumers and employers and “pose a legal risk to all employers” by giving employees cause to sue.
A focus of concern among these business advocacy groups is the sick leave portion of the proposal, which they say limits business owners’ freedom to make their own decisions and subjects them to liability if they don’t comply.
Ray McCarthy, The CEO of Associated Industries of Missouri said in an interview with The Independent that the groups are exploring a lawsuit to challenge the law on the grounds that it does not meet the state constitution’s single-entity requirement because benefits and wages are different questions. They are also considering advocating for legislative changes when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
“We’ll look at the legal challenge first,” McCarthy 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 much of a chance of success, then yes, we’ll be looking at bills to try to mitigate some of the issues that we see with it .”
Supporters of the measure, incl Richard Von Glahn, campaign manager for Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages, let’s just say that attempts to roll over or lose weight 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 voice concerns about the language earlier, but they did not.
“They ran a campaign to try to convince voters to reject this. They lost,” von Glahn said. “So the idea of a lawsuit now seems a bit frivolous to me and a waste of time and resources. It would be better if they make sure they educate their community and businesses about the requirements of the law and help ensure smooth implementation.”
Because the measure changes state law but not the constitution, the Legislature can amend or repeal it without going back to the people for another vote.
In 2018, after the state passed a minimum wage increase, some business interest groups lobbied unsuccessfully for lawmakers to change parts of it, von Glahn said, “and that could happen again.”
“If I’m a politician, I know I have a limited time in Jefferson City. There are a limited number of bills that can be heard and voted on,” he said. “Overriding the will of Missouri voters should not be at the top of the list.”
McCarthy said the broad discretion to adopt could make it a challenge to convince lawmakers to fix the law.
“For 58 to 42, it’s very difficult for any legislator, even the seasoned ones who have been around a long time, it’s very difficult for them to go against the will of the people, and we understand that,” he said. “Some legislators might look at this and go, we don’t want to deal with this at all because the percentage was so high in support of this.”
Business leaders “have good reasons why we would like to change that,” McCarthy said. But while they could try to push a bill through the Legislature, he said they would prefer to “cut it off and just kill it” through litigation.
Predicted victory
Prop A victory came as no surprise to most: It follows the trend of progressive initiative petition campaigns finding success in a state that hasn’t voted a Democrat for statewide office since 2018.
Paid sick leave measures 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 leave on May 1, 2025, earning one hour for every 30 hours worked until five days per year for small businesses (those with fewer than 15 employees) and seven days per year for larger businesses. Ccertain workers are exempt and are listed in the full text of the law, including those employed on a “casual basis” to look after children, workers employed in a private residence who work occasionally for six hours or less, and those who work in the retail or service trades in a business that annually does less than $500,000 in annual gross sales.
Von Glahn said that as they campaigned, the workers found common ground in their identity with other workers – regardless of party affiliation – who also had the experience of leaving work to pick up their sick children from school.
“And immediately what I get is people nodding their heads, ‘yeah, I’ve got that,’ and saying there’s no point in some workers being penalized because they have to do that.” “
Alejandro Gallardo, a prep chef at a restaurant in Colombia who campaigned with 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 $15 anymore.
Coworkers come to work sick “all the time,” he said, based on his experience in the restaurant industry. A colleague who had the stomach flu, he recalls, came to work saying “my stomach says I should stay home, but my wallet says I should come to work.
Gallardo will qualify for sick leave for the first time in his career in May. He will no longer have to choose between going without pay or coming to work sick, calling it “a huge improvement for many workers in the state.”
The ballot measure would make guaranteed sick leave available to the 728,000 workers who don’t currently have it statewide, or more than 1 in 3 workers in Missouri, according to an analysis by the progressive nonprofit Missouri Budget Project.
The minimum wage increase is expected to affect more than 562,000 workers in the state, according to Missouri’s draft budgetor almost one in four workers.
“It’s a vital part of the community that’s 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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