New Sick Leave Law: Proposition A
Attention Employers: What You Need to Know About
Proposition A: Effective May 1, 2025
Elliott, Robinson & Company is providing you with information on a new law for employers. Missouri voters recently approved Proposition A, enacting a new statewide paid sick leave law that will take effect on May 1, 2025.
The new law applies to ALL private employers in Missouri, regardless of the size of the employer’s workforce; however, employees working in a “retail or service business” with less than $500,000 in annual gross sales are excluded from coverage.
Employers with existing paid time off or vacation policies that provide sufficient leave that meets the minimum requirements of the law are not required to provide employees with additional paid time off. However, all employers – even those with existing paid leave policies – should carefully evaluate all requirements, including the documentation, notice, and carryover/payout requirements.
Beginning May 1, 2025, employees (both full-time and part-time) will begin accruing paid sick leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. Employers will need to prepare revised or new policies to address this benefit. See below for other notable requirements of the new law:
No Accrual Maximum
There is no maximum amount of sick leave an employee can accrue. However, the amount of paid sick leave the employee can use each year is limited.
- Employers with 15 or more employees may limit an employee’s use of paid sick leave to 56 hours per year.
- Employers with 14 or less employees may limit an employee’s use of paid sick leave to 40 hours per year.
Carryover Requirements
Employees may carry over up to 80 hours of unused earned paid sick time from one year to the next. You may still limit them to using no more than the applicable annual use cap listed above.
- There is no requirement to pay out any unused sick leave hours when an employee separates from employment for any reason.
Frontloading
Employers are permitted to “frontload” paid sick leave at the beginning of the year, meaning they provide the full allotment of leave upfront, rather than accruing it over time.
Notice to Employees
A written notice about the new paid sick leave law and the employer’s leave policy must be given to employees on or before April 15, 2025. For employees hired after that date, employers will have 14 days to provide the written notice.
Salaried Employees
Employees who are exempt from overtime requirements will be assumed to work 40 hours each week for purposes of earning sick time. If their normal work week is less than 40 hours each week, they will accrue sick leave based on the actual number of hours worked.
Use of Leave
Paid sick leave can be used for a variety of reasons, not limited to the employees’ health but also caring for a family member. An employee may use it as soon as it is accrued and in the smallest increment that the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences or use of time.
The Missouri Chamber drafted an FAQ summary which does mention the possibility this might be overturned. This is not a guarantee however, and we want to give you plenty of notice to prepare for compliance if this remains in effect. As a reminder, the first deadline of the new law is to provide written notice to your employees by April 15, 2025. As you establish this written notice, we recommend waiting to notify your employees until closer to the deadline of April 15th to ensure it is still in effect.
The FAQ summary can be found online:
https://mochamber.com/news-archive/proposition-a-what-employers-need-to-know/
The full text of the Proposition A bill is below:
https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Elections/Petitions/2024-038.pdf
If you have any questions specific to your organization, please contact us.