Missouri GOP legislators undermine voters, repeal paid sick leave and minimum wage increases

Despite Missouri voters overwhelmingly approving a ballot measure guaranteeing paid sick leave and minimum wage increases last November, the state Republican Party passed a law repealing the provision just days after it went into effect.

Last November, 1,693,064 voters, or 57.57%, approved Proposition A, and its passage was upheld in the state Supreme Court last month. The provisions of the measure already went into effect on May 1, which include most employers guaranteeing workers at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

But the Republican-controlled state legislature passed House Bill 567 on party lines with a 22-11 vote on Wednesday. The bill strips away the paid sick leave provisions and removes incremental increases to the minimum wage based on inflation. Despite Democratic lawmakers conducting a filibuster, which has stalled the bill for much of the 2025 session, Republicans reportedly ended the filibuster with a rare legislative maneuver to push the bill through.

HB 567 now heads to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s (R) desk, who is expected to sign it into law. The bill will be implemented on Aug. 1.

During a press conference on Friday, Kehoe said he’s a “big fan” of the bill and that markets should decide employees’ wages and benefits.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) mischaracterizes the state’s paid sick leave law — which voters overwhelmingly voted to enact, and the GOP is trying to repeal — falsely claiming it’s a “piece of legislation” written by “a very liberal group from the East Coast.”

Missourians passed… pic.twitter.com/rD7dUlRnhX

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) May 16, 2025

The Missouri GOP passed a similar bill that will repeal reproductive rights in the state, which voters also decided to protect via a ballot measure last November. Missouri Republicans have blatantly criticized direct democracy in the state. Senate Bill 22, written by state Sen. Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville), has already been signed by Kehoe and it will restrict the ability for courts to amend confusing ballot language.

Last month, Brattin chastised voters who approved the paid sick leave measure for not supposedly not having a stake in the law’s contents.