Business leaders argued Wednesday before the Missouri Supreme Court that a new law increasing the minimum wage and guaranteeing paid sick leave should be overturned.
The coalition of business groups and leaders claim the law, which was approved by 57% of state voters in November, violates constitutional restrictions on ballot initiatives.
They argued that measures before voters can only address a single issue, but this one included both the minimum wage increase and paid sick leave.
The measure, called Proposition A, increased the state’s minimum wage from $12.30 an hour to $13.75 in January and will raise it to $15 in 2026.
The new law also gives workers up to seven paid sick days per year starting in May. Businesses with annual receipts greater than $500,000 must provide one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked.
The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in December challenging the proposition. In addition to challenging the number of issues allowed, they argued that the summary explaining the ballot initiative was misleading and ignored crucial details, including domestic violence leave and exempt employers.
They also claimed the fiscal note summary on the ballot insufficiently described the measure's economic impact. The state auditor prepares this short document to include the financial concerns affecting Missouri communities.
Attorney Marc Ellinger, who represented the business groups, emphasized Wednesday that the plaintiffs are not proposing that Prop. A is unfair to Missouri businesses.
Instead, their arguments center on claims that voters did not understand the measure because of how it was presented on the ballot, he said.
“Voters were misled because when they go into the polling place, they need to see one thing on their ballot," Ellinger said. "That's the official ballot title, which has two components, the fiscal note summary and the summary statement.”
Andrew Crane, who represented the state Attorney General's Office, argued that paid leave and minimum wage were close enough in topic to be included in the same measure.
“Those things completely relate to one subject, which is employee compensation,” Crane told the judges. “That subject is not impermissibly broad.”
Attorney Loretta Haggard also spoke in favor of Proposition A, telling the court to uphold the election.
“The contestants asked this court to overturn the will of the voters to exercise their fundamental right of the initiative based on technical issues that could have been, but were not raised before the election,” Haggard said.
On Tuesday, the Missouri House initially approved a bill that would repeal the sick leave law and modify the minimum wage provisions.
If passed, House Bill 567 would delay the minimum wage increase to 2028 and remove guaranteed paid sick leave entirely.
“It essentially leaves minimum wage how it passed, but it does strike the entire paid sick leave provision,” said Kara Korches, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, about the House bill during a press conference after the hearing.
Five small business owners in Missouri, including Columbia's Yellow Dog Bookshop owner, submitted a brief before Wednesday's hearing in support of Proposition A.
"In contrast to the special interest groups and trade associations attempting to block Proposition A, these business owners see great value in paying workers a higher minimum wage and ensuring workers have paid sick time," according to a news release about the brief.
The release added that an estimated 400,000 Missourians have already seen the results of Proposition A with pay increases and at least 700,000 workers will begin to earn paid sick time on May 1.
