Missouri workers begin accruing sick leave under Proposition A amid legislative pushback

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — May 1 marked the first day Missouri workers began to accrue sick leave under the new paid sick leave mandated by Proposition A.

While the Missouri Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the November ballot initiative, and the law has taken effect, Republican state lawmakers say a bill to undo the paid sick leave obligation and the wage increase schedule for employers still could get be passed before the legislature adjourns May 16.

“This is a big threat to the economic viability of some of our small businesses," Republican Rep. Ed Lewis said.

House bill 567 passed through the House in March and now sits with the Senate.

“At this point, it could be called up at any time and passed at any time or never called up again or called up and not passed,” Lewis said.

The bill attempts to undo key provisions of Proposition A, which voters approved in November.

“What they didn’t see was the almost two pages of rules that were written in there on how it was going to be implemented,” Lewis said.

Republican lawmakers worry the new sick leave and minimum wage requirements will hurt small businesses.

“They don’t know what they are going to do. A lot of them are scrambling trying to figure out, ‘I don’t even know how to obey the law' because of the way it is written," Lewis said.

Legal experts say failure to adhere to the requirements likely will result in financial penalties for a business

“If an employer fails to comply with this new law, they are subject to a Class C misdemeanor," Scott Pool, partner at Gibbs Pool and Turner, said.

He warned the enforcement could be inconsistent.

“if the enforcement mechanism is a class c misdemeanor, you can anticipate that being applied unevenly depending on where the employer’s principal place of business is located some prosecutors may elect not to enforce it whereas others will," Pool said.

KRCG 13 reached out to the Missouri Department of Labor for comment on implementation of the law. The department declined an interview.