Missouri Department of Labor

The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said it's up to businesses to determine what is done with employees’ earned paid sick leave.

Minimum-wage workers in Missouri now make $12 an hour. While Missouri and other other states have raised worker pay, the Kansas minimum wage has stayed at the federal level of $7.25 per hour.

The waivers could lead to the forgiveness of more than $100 million in federal money that the state has tried to recoup from 47,000 Missourians.