Business groups have challenged a Missouri statewide ballot issue that increases the state’s minimum wage and gives more workers access to paid sick leave.
Voters passed Proposition A with 57% approval in November. It raises the minimum wage in the state to $15 an hour and ties future increases to inflation, and gives more workers in the state paid sick leave.
The Board of State Canvassers certified the results of the election on Thursday. The groups, including the state’s chamber of commerce, the Missouri Grocers Association and the National Federation of Independent Businesses, filed suit the next day.
“While Proposition A is bad policy and will have extreme and detrimental effects on Missouri’s businesses, that is not the basis of this action; instead the election irregularities and the constitutional violations are so significant that the election results must be overturned and Proposition A must be declared invalid,” the groups’ attorney, Marc Ellinger, wrote in the suit.
The lawsuit claims there are a number of constitutional problems with the language of the amendment. The groups said the language that voters saw on the ballot summarizing the measure was misleading because it implied that all workers would get paid sick leave, while some are exempt. The suit says the fiscal note outlining costs is also unfair because it did not specify that local governments could see more tax revenue because of higher wages.
Backers of Proposition A denounced the suit.
“It’s sickening to me that corporations are trying to steal our victory away and quiet the will of the voters who made this win possible,” said Terrence Wise, a longtime advocate for higher wages with Stand Up KC. “It hurts our families and our communities and simply put, it’s un-American.”
The first minimum wage increase, to $13.75, will start Jan. 1 unless the state Supreme Court agrees with the challenge. Under state law, the judges have to hear the case.
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