Missouri Labor Laws: A Complete Guide to Wages, Breaks, Overtime, and More (2026)

No mandatory paid sick leave applies in Missouri as of today. Missouri sick leave law went through two major changes in less than 12 months. Here is what happened:

• November 5, 2024: Missouri voters passed Proposition A with 57.9% approval. It required employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked, effective May 1, 2025.
• May 1, 2025: The paid sick leave requirement took effect. Employers began tracking accrual, updating handbooks, and posting required notices.
• July 10, 2025: Governor Kehoe signed HB 567. The bill repealed all paid sick leave provisions of Proposition A.
• August 28, 2025: The repeal took effect. Paid sick leave is no longer required in Missouri.

DOLIR guidance confirms: “Employers may continue to offer employees earned paid sick time after Aug. 28, 2025, if they wish but are no longer required to do so.”

If your crew accrued sick leave between May 1 and August 27, 2025, no state law requires you to pay it out. But DOLIR issued no specific guidance on zeroing out those balances. If workers were told they had sick leave, consult counsel before eliminating it.

Watch for 2026 ballot measure: Initiative Petition 2026-047 has been filed. If enough valid signatures are gathered, a paid sick leave constitutional amendment could appear on the November 2026 ballot.

If passed, requirements would take effect February 1, 2027 and would be harder to repeal. Contractors who want to avoid policy whiplash may choose to voluntarily maintain sick leave until the ballot outcome is known.

Missouri’s Neonatal Intensive Care Leave Act takes effect June 1, 2026. Employers with 16 or more employees must provide up to 10 days of unpaid leave when an employee’s child is receiving care in a neonatal intensive care unit.

• Up to 10 days unpaid leave per NICU admission
• Leave may be taken continuously or intermittently
• This is in addition to any FMLA entitlement — not a substitute for it
• Employees are protected from retaliation for using this leave
• Employers may request reasonable verification, but may not require HIPAA-protected medical information

Construction employers with fewer than 16 employees are not covered by this law. If your crew is under that threshold, NICU leave is not required. But FMLA may still apply if you have 50 or more employees.

Federal FMLA requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. Covered reasons include caring for a sick family member, recovering from a health condition, or welcoming a new child.

For Missouri contractors, the 50-employee threshold is the key number — electrical, roofing, and HVAC shops near that line should track their headcount carefully.

Missouri does not require employers to provide paid or unpaid vacation or bereavement leave. If you offer these benefits, your written policy governs. You cannot deny them based on age, gender, or race.

Most Missouri contractors offer at least two days of bereavement leave by policy. Document yours.

Missouri employees called up for military training or active duty cannot be terminated for their absence. They retain reemployment rights consistent with federal USERRA protections.

Missouri employers must provide up to three hours of paid time off to vote on election day, under RSMo § 115.639. This applies only when the employee does not already have three consecutive non-working hours while polls are open.

Employees must request the leave before election day. The employer decides which three hours are taken.

Missouri employers must excuse employees for jury duty. You are not required to pay them during this absence, but you cannot fire or penalize them for serving.

Missouri state law prohibits cities and counties from setting a minimum wage higher than the state minimum. No local jurisdiction in Missouri can mandate a higher wage floor. The state rate of $15.00/hour is the ceiling and the floor.

The Missouri minimum wage law applies to private employers with annual gross receipts of $500,000 or more. Exemptions include:

• Retail and service businesses with annual gross sales under $500,000
• Tipped employees (subject to the $7.50 tipped wage floor)
• Independent contractors
• Agricultural and farm employees
• Highly compensated employees, administrative workers, and executives (FLSA-exempt roles)

Important change: Public employers are no longer exempt. HB 567 (effective August 28, 2025) brought state agencies, municipalities, and school districts under Missouri’s minimum wage law. If your employee handbook still lists public employers as exempt, update it now.

Contractors working on public-sector jobsites must also comply. Any public-agency workers on your payroll must be paid Missouri’s $15.00 minimum.

Under at-will employment, Missouri employers can terminate workers at any time, for any reason, as long as the reason is not:

• Discriminatory under state or federal civil rights law
• Retaliatory for filing an OSHA complaint, raising wage claims, or reporting discrimination
• In violation of a written employment contract

Missouri is not a right-to-work state. The General Assembly passed a right-to-work law (SB 19) in 2017. Missouri voters repealed it in August 2018, with 67.5% voting against it. The law never took effect. Subsequent bills in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 have all failed.

As of 2026, Missouri permits union security agreements. These agreements can require workers to pay union fees as a condition of employment, even without full union membership.

Article I, Section 29 of the Missouri Bill of Rights gives employees the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their choosing. Employees also have the right to join or leave a labor organization without fear of retaliation from their employer.

The Missouri Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits employers from taking adverse action against an employee who reports a violation of law. If a protected employee suffers retaliation for blowing the whistle, they may recover:

• Back pay
• Double the amount of foregone remedies
• Reimbursement of medical bills

Missouri whistleblower protections apply to employers with more than six employees, except for:

• The state of Missouri or its agencies
• Higher education institutions
• Religious or sectarian organizations
• Political subdivisions
• State-owned corporations

Missouri allows background checks but only in the latter stages of hiring. EEOC guidelines govern how criminal records can be used. You must review each applicant individually, and you must provide written disclosure that background check results could affect employment.

Drug testing is not mandated or restricted by Missouri law. Follow federal guidelines and your own written policy. Require written consent before testing.

Missouri employers are subject to federal EEO laws enforced by the EEOC. These laws prohibit discrimination in hiring, pay, training, promotion, and termination.