Just eight months after Missouri voters passed Proposition A to guarantee paid sick leave and inflation-adjusted minimum wage increases, Gov. Mike Kehoe has signed a repeal that takes effect August 28, 2025.
What We Know:
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Proposition A passed with nearly 58% support in November 2024, allowing workers to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, plus indexing the minimum wage to inflation.
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The law took effect May 1, enabling full-time workers to accrue up to 22 hours of paid sick leave within 17 weeks.
In a news release, the governor’s office described the voter-initiated paid sick leave law as “onerous” and harmful to small businesses, because it dictates “when and how paid leave must be provided” and requires “burdensome record keeping and compliance obligations.”
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On July 10, 2025, Gov. Kehoe signed House Bill 567 repealing the sick-leave mandate and removing future inflation adjustments to the minimum wage, citing relief for small businesses.
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The repeal will be official on August 28, 2025; currently accrued leave must be used before then or it may be lost.
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Opponents, including Missouri Jobs With Justice, denounced the repeal as a betrayal of voter will and have proposed a new constitutional amendment for the 2026 ballot.
Missouri’s rollback reflects a broader pattern of legislatures undoing ballot initiatives, prompting advocates to push constitutional measures to protect future voter-approved labor reforms.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated here.
