Missouri’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld Proposition A, the voter-approved law expanding paid sick leave set to go into effect Thursday.
It was a unanimous opinion but one judge dissented on the reasoning.
“This court finds there was no election irregularity and the election results are valid,” Chief Justice Mary Russell wrote in the opinion.
Business groups have been fighting on two fronts to gut the law since it passed in November. Tuesday’s decision marks the failure of one front, but efforts to convince Republican lawmakers to overturn the law remain in play.
A bill that cleared the House and awaits action in the Senate would repeal the sick leave provisions. Negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans on that legislation appear to have stalled.
“In light of today’s decision, it is now imperative that the Missouri General Assembly pass HB 567,” Kara Corches, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a press release, referring to the bill to seeking to void the paid sick leave law.
The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments last month seeking to strike down the law, filed by a coalition of business groups and individuals. The lawsuit argued the law should be thrown out for violating constitutional rules on ballot initiatives, including violations of the state constitution’s single-subject requirement and a lack of a clear title, which the court ruled it lacks jurisdiction over.
“Workers like me have spent over a decade fighting across race and place to strengthen our rights, and the Supreme Court decision today proves that when we fight, we win,” said Terrence Wise, a Stand Up KC and Missouri Workers Center leader who has worked in the fast food industry for two decades, in a press release. "We will continue to stand up for our right to the dignified benefits and wages we deserve — from the shop floor to the halls of government.”
Prop A passed with nearly 58% of the vote and had the support of numerous unions, workers’ advocacy groups, social justice and civil rights organizations, as well as over 500 business owners.
Senate Democrats have spent two nights this month blocking Republican efforts to overturn the law. They have worked on reaching a compromise regarding implementation details.
Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, a Republican from Shelbina, has been an especially loud voice urging full repeal. She has said that even though requirements go into effect May 1, the Senate could continue working to weaken the law until the end of session on May 16.
A bill sponsored by state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, a Republican from Jefferson City, would overturn the law requiring most employers to provide paid sick time off for hundreds of thousands of qualifying workers and modify the minimum wage law by removing the requirement that it be indexed to inflation.
State Sen. Brian Williams, a Democrat from University City, spent over two hours blocking action in the chamber with a filibuster Tuesday morning, saying some had been acting in bad faith during negotiations.
“This year, there’s been again, people going back on negotiation, bad faith efforts, distrust, people feeling deceived and members of the body feeling disrespected,” he said. “But most importantly, all in the name of disregarding voters. The very same voters that have sent us here.”
Under the law, beginning May 1 employers with business receipts greater than $500,000 a year must provide at least one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with fewer than 15 workers must allow workers to earn at least 40 hours per year, with larger employers mandated to allow at least 56 hours. The law also gradually increases the minimum wage.
“It is financially burdensome, just short of devastating, and its regulatory requirements are extremely difficult for single unit operators,” Buddy Lahl, CEO of the Missouri Restaurant Association, told The Independent Tuesday.
The bill would allow the minimum wage to increase to $15 per hour in 2026, as voters approved, but it would not be adjusted for inflation thereafter — a policy that has been in place since 2007. The sick leave provisions would be repealed entirely.
Those provisions would make sick leave guaranteed for around 728,000 workers who currently lack it statewide, or over 1 in 3 Missouri workers, according to an analysis from the progressive nonprofit the Missouri Budget Project.
This story was originally published by the Missouri Independent. Rudi Keller contributed reporting.
