Creates exemptions for seasonal and small businesses
SB 684 revises Missouri’s minimum wage and earned paid sick time laws by creating a new exemption for small businesses and seasonal businesses. The bill would keep the state minimum wage schedule in place generally, including the planned increases to $13.75 per hour on January 1, 2025, and $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026, followed by future inflation adjustments, but it adds a new section stating that those increases and the earned paid sick time requirements in sections 290.600 to 290.642 would not apply to qualifying small or seasonal businesses. For those exempt employers, the minimum wage in effect on December 31, 2024, would remain the applicable rate.
The bill defines a “small business” as an independently owned and operated business headquartered in Missouri with 50 or fewer employees and at least 80% of employees in Missouri. A “seasonal business” is defined by reference to industries that operate only during a recurring seasonal period or 26 weeks or less in a year. The bill also states that exempt businesses would still be subject to the remaining applicable provisions of Missouri’s minimum wage law as applied to the December 31, 2024 rate, and the exemption would apply only prospectively. It also authorizes the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to adopt rules to administer the new section, titled the “Entrepreneur Rights Act.”
The bill’s impact would be to narrow the reach of Missouri’s recent wage and paid leave requirements for a significant category of employers, especially smaller local businesses and seasonal operations. It would preserve the higher wage and sick leave framework for larger employers while carving out a separate, lower-cost compliance regime for exempt businesses. In practical terms, employees of qualifying small and seasonal businesses would not receive the scheduled minimum wage increases or the earned paid sick time protections created by the referenced sections.
Based on the available context, the bill appears to have a neutral-to-supportive framing in its caption and text, emphasizing relief for entrepreneurs and smaller employers. However, there is no committee transcript or recorded vote history provided, so there is no documented legislative debate or formal vote sentiment in the supplied materials. The absence of recorded discussion means the bill’s political reception cannot be assessed from the provided record beyond its stated purpose.
The main point of contention likely concerns the policy tradeoff between business relief and worker protections. Supporters would likely view the bill as reducing labor-cost burdens on small and seasonal employers and preserving business viability, while opponents would likely argue that it creates unequal treatment among workers and weakens wage and paid sick leave gains for employees at exempt businesses. The exemption’s scope, especially the 50-employee threshold and the exclusion from future minimum wage increases, would be the most significant issue for affected workers, labor advocates, and small business groups.
SB 684 would amend Missouri’s minimum wage and earned paid sick time statutes by creating a new exemption in section 290.800 for small businesses and seasonal businesses. It would leave the general minimum wage increase schedule intact for covered employers, but exempt qualifying businesses from the higher minimum wage increases beginning January 1, 2025, and from the earned paid sick time provisions in sections 290.600 to 290.642. For exempt employers, the minimum wage in effect on December 31, 2024, would remain the applicable wage floor, and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations would be authorized to implement the new section through rulemaking.
The bill’s text and caption suggest a pro-business, entrepreneur-focused intent, with the stated purpose of creating exemptions for seasonal and small businesses. No committee transcripts or vote records were provided, so there is no direct evidence of floor or committee sentiment. On the face of the bill, the measure appears designed to appeal to small business owners and seasonal employers, while likely drawing concern from worker advocates and supporters of the existing wage and sick leave expansions.
The likely controversy centers on whether small and seasonal businesses should be exempt from Missouri’s scheduled minimum wage increases and earned paid sick time requirements. Supporters would argue that the bill protects small employers from compliance costs and helps preserve jobs and business continuity, especially for seasonal operations. Opponents would likely contend that the bill undermines wage growth and paid leave protections for employees at exempt businesses and creates a two-tier system in which workers at smaller employers receive fewer statutory benefits than workers at larger firms.