SB 989 would substantially revise Missouri wage-and-leave law by increasing the state minimum wage and creating a new statewide earned paid sick leave and earned paid bereavement leave system. The bill would set the minimum wage at $13.75 per hour beginning January 1, 2025, raise it to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026, and then index it to cost of living adjustments thereafter. It also preserves the existing minimum wage framework for public employers by continuing to exempt public employers from the new higher minimum wage provision while leaving them subject to the earlier minimum wage subsections.
The bill would require most private employers to provide earned paid sick time beginning January 1, 2027, accrued at one hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 15 or more employees would have to allow up to 56 hours of use per year, while smaller employers would have to allow up to 40 hours. The leave could be used for an employee’s own illness or preventive care, care for family members, public health emergencies, and certain domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking-related needs. The bill also requires notice, recordkeeping, anti-retaliation protections, complaint procedures, civil remedies, and enforcement authority for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and local governments.
In addition, SB 989 creates a separate earned paid bereavement leave benefit beginning January 1, 2027, also accrued at one hour per 30 hours worked. This leave could be used after the death of a family member or for reproductive loss, including miscarriage, stillbirth, failed adoption, failed surrogacy, or fertility-related diagnoses. The bill sets similar annual caps, carryover rules, notice requirements, and enforcement mechanisms for bereavement leave, and it treats qualifying leave as protected from discipline under employer attendance policies.
The bill’s impact on state law would be broad: it would add a new chapter-like framework of employee rights, employer obligations, enforcement powers, penalties, and private rights of action. It would also define covered employees, exempt certain categories of workers and employers, protect health and safety information as confidential, and preserve more generous leave policies, collective bargaining agreements, and existing public employee rights. Employers that willfully violate the law could face criminal penalties, while employees could sue for unpaid leave, damages, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, and reinstatement.
Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, the overall sentiment cannot be measured from debate or roll call history. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears strongly pro-worker and protective of employee compensation and leave rights, but it also contains significant compliance and enforcement obligations for employers. Likely points of contention include the cost and administrative burden on businesses, especially smaller employers, the inclusion of bereavement leave for reproductive loss, the role of local enforcement, and the bill’s treatment of public employers and collective bargaining agreements.
SB 989 would repeal and replace section 290.502 and add 26 new sections governing minimum wage, earned paid sick time, earned paid bereavement time, enforcement, penalties, and related employer notice and recordkeeping duties. It would raise the state minimum wage, create annual inflation indexing, and establish mandatory paid leave accrual and use rules for most private employers beginning in 2027, while exempting public employers from the new higher minimum wage provision and preserving existing public-employee protections. The bill would also authorize administrative enforcement by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, allow local enforcement in some circumstances, and create both criminal penalties and private civil remedies for violations.
No committee discussion or vote history was provided, so there is no recorded legislative sentiment to summarize from debate or roll call. From the substance of the bill, the measure is clearly designed to expand worker compensation and leave protections, suggesting support from labor and employee-rights advocates, while likely drawing opposition from employer groups concerned about wage costs, leave mandates, and enforcement obligations.
The main likely points of contention are the higher minimum wage schedule, the mandate that most employers provide paid sick leave and paid bereavement leave, and the bill’s enforcement structure. Employers may object to the accrual requirements, recordkeeping, notice posting, anti-retaliation rules, and the possibility of civil suits and misdemeanor penalties. The inclusion of bereavement leave for reproductive loss may also be a debated policy issue. Public-sector exemptions, treatment of small businesses, local government enforcement authority, and the interaction with collective bargaining agreements are additional areas where stakeholders may disagree.