HB567 revises Missouri law on employee compensation by repealing and replacing the state’s minimum wage and earned paid sick time provisions. The bill sets a new minimum wage schedule beginning January 1, 2025, at $13.75 per hour, increasing to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026, and provides that if the federal minimum wage is higher, the federal rate controls. It also removes the prior inflation-indexed annual adjustment mechanism after 2024 and specifies that public employers are not covered by the minimum wage section.
The bill creates a statewide earned paid sick time program for private-sector employees, generally requiring employers with 15 or more employees to provide one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours per year, and smaller employers to provide the same accrual rate up to 40 hours per year. Sick time may be used for an employee’s own illness or preventive care, care of family members, public health closures or quarantine-related needs, and certain domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking-related purposes. The bill also includes notice, recordkeeping, anti-retaliation, confidentiality, enforcement, civil action, and penalty provisions, and it allows local governments to adopt related enforcement measures consistent with state law.
In state law terms, HB567 substantially rewrites sections 290.502 and 290.600 through 290.642 of the Missouri Revised Statutes. It replaces the prior minimum wage framework and codifies a new earned paid sick time regime with detailed definitions, employer obligations, employee rights, and enforcement mechanisms. It also preserves the ability of employers to offer more generous leave policies and states that the new provisions are minimum standards that do not preempt stronger protections elsewhere in law or policy.
The overall sentiment reflected in the voting history suggests the bill was supported by a majority but remained divisive. The House passed the measure on third reading by margins of 96-51, 97-49, and 84-62, and the Senate later passed it 22-11. Those vote totals indicate clear support from proponents, but also substantial opposition from a significant minority in both chambers.
The main points of contention are the mandated paid sick leave requirement, the wage increase schedule, and the scope of employer obligations and enforcement. Opponents are likely concerned about added labor costs, administrative burdens, local enforcement authority, and the impact on small businesses and public employers, while supporters appear to favor stronger worker protections, wage growth, and access to paid leave for health and family needs. The bill’s detailed anti-retaliation and private right of action provisions also suggest concern about compliance and enforcement as a major issue.
HB567 would amend Missouri’s wage and leave laws by repealing existing minimum wage and earned sick time sections and enacting a new section governing employee compensation. It raises the state minimum wage, establishes a statewide earned paid sick time entitlement for most employees, excludes public employers from the minimum wage provision, and creates enforcement tools including administrative investigations, local enforcement authority, civil lawsuits, and criminal penalties for willful violations. Employers would need to update payroll, leave, notice, posting, and recordkeeping practices, while employees would gain new statutory rights to paid sick time and anti-retaliation protections.
The bill appears to have received majority support but also meaningful opposition. House and Senate vote totals show that it cleared both chambers with comfortable but not overwhelming margins, indicating that supporters were able to advance the measure while a sizable bloc remained opposed. The available record contains no committee transcript discussion, so the sentiment must be inferred primarily from the votes and the bill’s policy design, which suggests a classic labor-versus-business divide.
The most notable contention centers on whether Missouri should require employers to provide paid sick leave and how broadly that mandate should apply. Business interests and opponents are likely to object to the cost of leave accrual, the compliance burden of notice and recordkeeping rules, and the possibility of local enforcement and private lawsuits. Supporters likely emphasize worker health, family caregiving, public health, and protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The minimum wage increase and the elimination of the prior inflation-adjustment structure are also likely points of debate, along with the bill’s exclusion of public employers from the minimum wage section and its interaction with collective bargaining agreements.