Overview
On Nov. 5, 2024, Missouri voters approved Proposition A, providing changes to the state’s minimum wage and paid sick time benefits to employees.
Read below for answers to frequently asked questions about the paid sick time benefits established by Proposition A.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is “earned paid sick time”?
RSMo 290.600 defines "earned paid sick time" as “time that is compensated at the same hourly rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits, as the employee normally earns during hours worked…”.
What employers must provide "earned paid sick time"?
All private employers who are not exempt from the provisions of Proposition A must provide "earned paid sick time" to eligible employees.
What employers are exempt?
The federal and state government, political subdivisions, including agencies, boards, commissions, or instrumentalities of the state, counties, municipalities, school districts, and public higher education institutions are exempt public employers. Private retail and service businesses whose annual gross volume sales made or business done is less than five hundred thousand dollars are also exempt.
If I employ less than 15 people, am I required to pay "earned paid sick time" benefits?
Regardless of the number of employees, any employer who is not an exempt from the provisions of Proposition A is required to provide paid sick time benefits.
Who is NOT considered an employee for the purposes of "earned paid sick time"?
The following are NOT considered employees for the purposes of "earned paid sick time":
- A volunteer or any individual involved with religious/charitable/nonprofit work where an employer-employee relationship does not exist.
- Foster parents
- Youth camp workers employed less than four months a year
- Students who get tuition reimbursed by the educational institution for whom they are working
- Casual workers on private residences employed for less than six hours on each occasion
- Casual baby sitters (not daycares)
- Rail workers defined under 49 USC 10101
- Casual or intermittent caddies and newsboys
- Elected officials defined under 29 USC 203(e)(2)(C)(i)-(ii)
- Prisoners
- Newspaper employees defined under 29 USC 213(a)(8)
What is a “year” for the purposes of Proposition A’s "earned paid sick time" provisions?
The “year” in which "earned paid sick time" is accrued and expended is any regular and consecutive 12-month period the employer chooses. For example, an employer may choose their "earned paid sick time" benefit year to be accounted for from May 1 to April 30 each year.
How is "earned paid sick time" accrued?
All employees shall accrue one hour of "earned paid sick time" for every 30 hours worked. The hours do not need to be worked consecutively, nor do 30 hours need to be worked in one week. The employer is responsible for tracking the amount of hours to which each employee is entitled.
How many hours can an employee use each year?
For employers with fewer than 15 employees, workers are entitled to use no more than 40 hours of paid sick time per year. For employers with 15 or more employees, workers are entitled to use no more than 56 hours of paid sick time per year. An employer may permit employees to use more through their written policies if they so choose.
When do the "earned paid sick time" benefits start accruing?
Employees will start accruing paid sick time benefits May 1, 2025.
What should I do before May 1, 2025, to comply with the provisions of Proposition A?
Written notice of the "earned paid sick time" policy must be provided to employees by April 15, 2025 on a single piece of 8.5 x 11 paper in no less than 14-point font and include the following information: (1) employees accrue paid sick time at the rate of 1 hour earned for every 30 hours worked (2) employers are prohibited from taking retaliatory action against employees who request or use paid sick leave (3) employees have a right to bring a civil action if paid sick leave is denied (4) the contact information for the Department.
How many hours of "earned paid sick time" can roll over year-to-year?
Employees are entitled to 80 hours of "earned paid sick time" rolling over to the next 12-month period. Alternatively, an employer may pay out an employee’s accrued "earned paid sick time" benefit at the end of each 12-month period and begin anew.
How do I calculate the hourly rate to be paid for employees who earn multiple hourly rates?
If an employee makes multiple hourly rates, the employer may choose between two methods to compensate them. An employer may pay the employee the wage they would have been paid for the exact hours they would have worked, or pay the weighted average of all hourly rates paid in the last pay cycle. For example, if an employee worked 35 hours at an hourly rate of $20.00 per hour and 5 hours at $25.00 per hour, the weighted average is $20.63.
How do I calculate the hourly rate to be paid for employees who are salaried?
The rate to be compensated is determined by dividing the wages the employee made in the previous pay cycle by the total hours worked by the employee. For determining total number of hours worked during the previous pay period, employees who are exempt from overtime requirements under 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1), the Fair Labor Standards Act, shall be assumed to work 40 hours in each work week unless their normal work week is less than 40 hours, in which case "earned paid sick time" shall accrue and the same hourly rate shall be calculated based on the employee's normal work week.
How do I calculate the hourly rate to be paid for employees who receive piece rates / fees-for-service?
The rate shall be a reasonable calculation of the wages for the services or fees the employee would have received for the services they would have provided had they been present.
How do I calculate the hourly rate to be paid for employees who receive tips/gratuities?
Employees who receive tips shall be paid either their regular hourly rate or the state minimum wage, whichever is higher. Tips cannot be deducted from this pay.
When is an employee entitled to utilize their "earned paid sick time"?
An employee can use their "earned paid sick time" for the following reasons:
- They or a family member have a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition.
- They or a family member require medical care, a medical diagnosis, or treatment, as well as receiving preventative medical care services.
- Their place of employment has been ordered closed by a public official due to a public health emergency.
- They need to care for a child whose school district has been ordered closed by a public official due to a public health emergency.
- They need to be absent to attend to matters relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
What family members can "earned paid sick time" be used for?
"Earned paid sick time" can be used to care for children, parents, spouses, domestic partners, individuals with whom the employee is in a continuing social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, or persons for whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health or safety-related care.
How long do employers need to retain documentation concerning "earned paid sick time" hours and the amount of time used per employee?
Three years.
What if an employer already has a paid time off policy?
If a paid time off policy already in existence makes available an amount of paid leave sufficient to meet the accrual requirements and may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as "earned paid sick time" under RSMo 290.600 through 290.642, they are not required to change or provide additional "earned paid sick time".
What is the penalty for violations of the provisions of RSMo 290.600 through 290.642?
Proposition A creates a private right of action for violations of its "earned paid sick time" benefits. Willful failure to comply is a class C misdemeanor and each day of violation constitutes a separate offense.