Business groups file legal challenge to overturn Proposition A

Representatives of Missouri’s business community filed a petition with the Missouri Supreme Court on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in an effort to overturn Proposition A – a measure that will increase prices for consumers and impose significant financial burdens on businesses of all types and sizes, including Missouri’s restaurants, grocery stores and small businesses.

Proposition A increases Missouri’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, well above the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. After 2026, the minimum wage will continue to increase based on the rate of inflation. Additionally, Proposition A requires businesses to provide paid sick leave and creates new pathways for frivolous lawsuits against employers.

Associated Industries of Missouri, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Forest Products Association, the Missouri Grocers Association, the Missouri Restaurant Association and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) filed the petition challenging the results of the November election.

“While Proposition A is bad policy and will have extreme and detrimental effects on Missouri’s businesses, that is not the basis of this action,” the petition states. “Instead, the election irregularities and the constitutional violations are so significant that the election results must be overturned and Proposition A must be declared invalid.”

Proposition A will impose multiple new and separate requirements on Missouri employers. All employers – including those currently offering paid leave – face new mandates regarding employees’ use of paid sick leave and the enforcement of leave policies.

The business coalition is challenging Proposition A on several counts:

• The Missouri Constitution requires ballot initiatives to contain a single subject. Proposition A contains at least two clear, unrelated subjects – minimum wage and earned sick leave.
• The Missouri Constitution requires the title of the ballot measure to clearly express its single subject. Proposition A’s title is unclear and contains multiple subjects.
• The ballot measure’s summary statement and fiscal note summary – an estimate of the ballot measure’s financial impact on state and local governments – are misleading and insufficient.
• By exempting government entities and certain workers, Proposition A violates the Equal Protection Clause.