KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe on Thursday signed House Bill 567, repealing the voter-approved changes to the state’s minimum wage and sick leave law.
HB 567 repeals the yearly cost-of-living increases that were established when voters approved Proposition A in 2024. It also repeals the provisions establishing paid sick time, which required employers to give workers at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
“Today, we are protecting the people who make Missouri work—families, job creators, and small business owners—by cutting taxes, rolling back overreach and eliminating costly mandates,” Kehoe said in a statement released after a private bill-signing ceremony.
Prop A was approved by voters in the November 2024 election and took effect on May 1.
In April, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the election results of Prop A despite efforts to repeal it. But in May, the Missouri Legislature passed HB 567; on Thursday, Gov. Kehoe signed it into law.
Missouri House Minority Leader Ashley Aune released the following statement Thursday:
“The governor’s action today demonstrates the absolute disdain Republicans have for working Missourians. But in stripping workers of their legal right to earned sick leave, the governor and his allies have probably guaranteed this issue will be back on the ballot next year as a constitutional amendment that will place worker protections beyond their reach.”
Workers’ rights advocates call it a betrayal while business groups argue that the policies hurt job growth.
Richard von Glahn, who sponsored the worker benefit ballot initiative, said many parents felt forced to go to work, instead of staying home to care for a sick child, in order to pay for their rent or utilities.
“The governor signing this bill is an absolute betrayal to those families, and it hurts my heart,” said von Glahn, policy director for Missouri Jobs With Justice.
The repeal will take effect Aug. 28. If workers don’t use their paid sick leave before Aug. 28, there’s no legal guarantee they can do so afterward.
But Missouri voters could get a second chance at mandating paid sick leave.
Von Glahn has submitted a proposed ballot initiative to the secretary of state that would reinstate the repealed provisions. Because the new measure is a constitutional amendment, the Legislature would be unable to revise or repeal it without another vote of the people. Supporters haven’t decided whether to launch a petition drive to try to qualify the measure for the 2026 ballot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
