The governor of Missouri, Mike Kehoe, recently signed a law that repeals the paid sick leave provisions that were approved by around 58% of voters less than a year ago.
The governor’s office stated that the Paid Sick Leave Act imposed burdensome requirements on small businesses, including strict guidelines on how leave should be administered and extensive record-keeping duties.
Kehoe expressed that this move was intended to protect Missouri’s workforce, families, and small business owners.
Since taking office last fall, Kehoe received nearly the same number of votes—around 1.7 million—as those who backed the paid sick leave initiative.
In addition to repealing the sick leave law, the new legislation also removes a provision related to automatic adjustments to the state’s $15 minimum wage based on the consumer price index, a measure that voters had overwhelmingly supported in November.
In response to the repeal, Ashley Orne, the Democratic leader in the Missouri House, criticized the governor, asserting that his actions undermine workers’ rights and may lead to a future ballot initiative for a constitutional amendment to protect those rights.
The initiative known as Proposal A could potentially be overturned by state lawmakers; however, doing so would require separate votes rather than a constitutional amendment process.
The Missouri GOP Council had already approved this repeal earlier this year, with significant majority votes in both the House and Senate.
Under the Paid Sick Leave Act, which took effect on May 1, employees were allowed to earn one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked. The new law means that these benefits will not be honored beyond the effective date set for the repeal next month.
According to recent polls, a substantial 75% of Missouri voters were against efforts to repeal the measure, although pro-business groups have been advocating strongly for this change, describing the act as a burden on employers.
Kara, the president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, argued that the policies from Proposal A were hindering job growth. He acknowledged the importance of competitive wages but insisted that the obligations placed on employers could threaten business expansion.
A worker advocacy group that supported the Paid Sick Leave Act has urged Kehoe to reconsider the repeal, emphasizing that many workers have just begun to benefit from the rights granted under the law.
The group expressed concern that ending Proposition A would increase economic stress for workers trying to manage illness while maintaining their jobs.
