A higher minimum wage and paid sick leave for all Missouri workers will be on the state’s general election ballot in November. Proposition A would increase the minimum wage from the current $12.30 per hour to $15 per hour by 2026, along with annual wage increases based upon national economic measures.
Kara Corches, the interim president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businesses should be the ones to decide the wage and benefits of their workers.
“We are always going to oppose business mandates,” Corches told Missourinet. “We do not think there should be government overreach into how business owners run their workplaces. Missouri employers, they know that employees are their most important asset, and they recognize the importance of offering competitive wages and benefits.”
She said the plan would increase costs and liability for businesses.
“Businesses are paying competitive wages,” said Corches. “And they know in this tight labor market, if they are not paying competitive wages, that employee is going to go to the next business down the street that is going to pay them those wages. We do not have a job market where we can afford to lose a single person.”
Corches said if Proposition A passes, businesses could be forced to reduce hiring.
“The majority, across the nation, of minimum wage earners are teenagers or young adults. So raising the minimum wage can reduce hiring and push teenagers and young adults out of the job market. And then you could also have a downstream effect. If wages are going up, businesses may have to cut a lot of different costs,” she said.
According to Corches, the paid sick leave provision conflicts with federal law and creates new pathways for frivolous lawsuits against employers.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Illinois is the only one of Missouri’s eight neighboring states with a higher minimum wage – $14 per hour for adults. Four neighboring states mirror the federal minimum wage law of $7.25 per hour – Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. Nebraska’s minimum wage is $12 and Arkansas is $11. Tennessee does not have a minimum wage.
Richard von Glahn, with the minimum wage campaign, called Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages, said the current minimum wage is not keeping up with price increases. He also said $500 a week is not enough for a full-time minimum wage worker.
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