Prop A minimum wage/sick leave/domestic violence leave update April 18, 2025

By Ray McCarty, president and CEO, Associated Industries of Missouri

Senator Mike Bernskoetter, Senate handler of Prop A bill

All business advocacy groups are aligned in fighting back against Proposition A that hampers an employer's ability to control the use of sick leave, allows lawsuits against employers, requires paid sick leave to be accrued and used in certain amounts, and allows sick leave to be used for purposes other than illness, including to address domestic violence. We have discussed employers' issues with these provisions in detail in other articles (employer notice required 4/15, Supreme Court failed to rule on lawsuit by 4/15, our efforts to address issues in legislation, employer preferences for changes to the law, details of our lawsuit, and details about employers' concerns with the law). Our purpose in this article is to update you on the legislative effort to amend the law to address employers' concerns.

This week, the Missouri Senate, under the leadership of Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin, Senate Majority Floor Leader Tony Luetkemeyer, and Senate handler of HB 567 Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, brought the bill before the Missouri Senate. In its present form, the bill as passed by the House would completely repeal the sick and domestic violence parts of the law, and that is the starting point for negotiations. Democrats took to the floor and filibustered the bill while Associated Industries of Missouri, the Missouri Chamber, the Missouri Grocers Association, NFIB, the Missouri Forest Products Association, and other business advocacy groups worked together to negotiate some of the most egregious parts of the bill. Those negotiations continue.

It is important to realize that nearly all business groups are united in this effort. Only one employer group has indicated that the compromise agreements we have achieved so far are insufficient. That group has said they will support only a bill with a complete exemption for all their members (one that will never pass the General Assembly) to a compromise bill that will address our main concerns. So any rumors about "splintering" of the business coalition fighting this effort are untrue! If there is a splinter, it is only one group!!! Also please remember if a bill is not passed and signed into law by May 1, ALL the provisions of the current law will be in full effect.

We negotiated in good faith with Democrats from around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday until 1:00 a.m. Thursday morning, when it became evident that supporters of Prop A were not able to reach agreement among themselves on one key point. The bill was temporarily tabled at that time, but we continue to negotiate and hope to have a legislative solution passed and signed into law before the bill takes effect May 1. Again, if we are unable to pass a bill with an emergency clause that allows immediate implementation of the bill by May 1, the law's sick/domestic violence leave provisions will be in full effect on May 1, 2025.

We are continuing our negotiations in the coming weeks and will report our progress to you. Because the negotiations are ongoing, we may not reveal specific details, but please understand the compromises we have achieved so far are very positive and will help employers implement the provisions of the law.

Stay tuned for updates of our progress!!!