Missouri Voters Pass New Paid Sick Leave Law

On November 5, Missourians voted to approve Proposition A, a referendum implementing mandatory paid sick leave law for Missouri employees.¹ Thus, effective May 1, 2025, Missouri will join the growing list of states that require employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees.

Broad Coverage with Narrow Exceptions

The new law applies to all private Missouri employers, regardless of the size of the employer’s workforce; however, employees working for an interstate railroad carrier, a local newspaper with circulation under 4,000, or “a retail or service business” with less than $500,000 in “annual gross volume sales made or business done” are excluded from coverage. With very few exceptions (e.g., temporary camp workers, casual babysitters, and certain nonprofit volunteers), nearly all other employees working for private employers in Missouri will be entitled to earn and use paid sick leave under the new law.

Accrual & Carryover of Paid Sick Time

For all eligible employees, accrual begins on the later of May 1, 2025, or the employee’s hire date. Eligible employees will accrue one (1) hour of paid sick leave for every thirty (30) hours worked. However, for purposes of calculating accruals, an employee who is exempt from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s executive, professional, or administrative exemptions is assumed to have worked 40 hours per week unless such employee’s normal workweek is less than 40 hours, in which case accruals may be based on the number of hours in such employee’s normal workweek. While employers and employees may bargain collectively or contract for more favorable paid leave benefits above what the new law requires, any private agreement that waives or reduces the minimums set by the new law will be void.

Covered employers must allow eligible employees to carry over from one year to the next up to 80 accrued, unused paid sick leave hours. Alternatively, an employer can pay out such accrued, unused paid sick leave hours at the end of each year. The new law does not require covered employers to pay out any unused paid sick leave hours when an employee separates from employment for any reason.

Use of Paid Sick Time

While the law does not cap the number of paid sick leave hours that an employee can accrue, limits apply to the amount of paid sick time that an employee may use per year:

• Eligible employees working for covered employers with 15 or more employees, may use up to 56 hours of paid sick leave per year.
• Eligible employees working for covered employers with less than 15 employees may use up to 40 hours a year.

Eligible employees may use earned paid sick time for (1) personal or family health needs (e.g., illness, injury, seeking diagnoses and treatment, and preventive care), (2) public health emergencies resulting in closure of the employee’s workplace or the school or place of care for the employee’s child, and (3) in response to certain needs relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including medical, counseling, relocation, or legal services. The law entitles eligible employees to use accrued paid sick leave in the smaller of hourly increments or the smallest increment that the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences or use of other time.

Notice and Policy Requirements

Employers must notify employees of their paid sick leave benefits by April 15, 2025, or within 14 calendar days of the employee’s start date, whichever is later. A poster displaying this information must also be placed prominently at the workplace.  

Employers can publish a policy requiring employees:

• to make good faith efforts to provide advance notice of paid sick leave usage for foreseeable reasons,
• to follow notice procedures when the need to use paid sick leave is not foreseeable, and
• to provide reasonable documentation, such as a healthcare provider’s note or, in cases of domestic violence, certain legal or service-related documents (for absences over three consecutive workdays).

Documents and information that employers receive concerning the health of an employee or the employee’s family members are subject to confidentiality requirements.

Protections Against Interference and Retaliation

The law prohibits interference with the use of paid sick leave and retaliation against employees for exercising rights under the law. Civil claims may be brought within three years of an alleged violation, and successful claimants may be entitled to unpaid earned sick time, actual damages, liquidated damages, injunctive relief, reinstatement, and reimbursement for attorney’s fees. 

Next Steps

Employers have several months to prepare for compliance with these new paid sick leave requirements. The following are a few steps that employers can consider taking to be ready for May 1, 2025:

• Tracking Time Accurately. Establish systems to track working hours and calculate earned paid sick time to ensure that time-keeping systems are ready to credit employees with earned sick leave hours and to track usage and carryover of those paid leave benefits.
• Develop a Policy. Implement (or update) a written policy materials concerning paid sick leave to clarify the reasons paid sick time can be used, notice and documentation expectations for usage of paid sick time, and how paid sick leave will be treated at termination.
• Consider Impacts to Other Leave Benefits. Consider and determine how paid sick leave benefits will interact with other leave programs (e.g., FMLA, etc.) available to employees.

Compliance with the new rules will require careful attention to both policy creation and employee communication. Missouri employers are encouraged to review their sick leave policies to ensure they align with the new standards before the law takes effect. If you have any questions regarding the information of this update, please contact your Quarles attorney or:

• Travis Kearbey: (314) 541-7566 / travis.kearbey@quarles.com
• Lennox Mark: (312) 715-5236 / lennox.mark@quarles.com

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¹ Proposition A also increases the minimum wage to $13.75 per hour, effective on January 1, 2025. A year later, the minimum wage will increase to $15.00 per hour.