What happened?

On November 5, 2024, Missouri voters approved Proposition A to change Missouri’s Paid Sick Leave.

Quick Summary:

• Private sector employers must provide paid sick leave to their workers, with different accrual rates depending on their size:
  • For businesses with fewer than 15 employees: the maximum is five days (40 hours) of paid sick leave per year.
  • For businesses with 15 or more employees: the maximum is seven days (56 hours) of paid sick leave per year.

• There are other requirements, such as notices, posting, and recordkeeping.

What are the details?

• Paid Sick Leave Requirements:
  
  • Accrual Rate: Employees will earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
    
  • Usage Limits:
    
    • The maximum for businesses with fewer than 15 employees is five days (40 hours) of paid sick leave per year
    • For larger businesses with 15 or more employees, the maximum is seven days (56 hours) of paid sick leave per year.

• Carryover: Unused paid sick leave can be carried over to next year, but employers may limit the carryover to 80 hours.

• Frontloading: Employers can give the full paid sick leave at the start of the year. Unused leave must be paid out at year-end, and employees can’t carry it over.
  
• Use of Leave: Paid sick leave can be used for personal medical and mental health care, caring for a family member, public health emergencies, and certain types of domestic violence leave.

• Employer Notice, Posting, and Recordkeeping:
  
  • Notice Requirements: Employers must provide written notice within 14 calendar days of employment beginning or by April 15, 2025, on a single piece of paper (at least 8.5 x 11 inches, in no less than 14-point font) including accrual rates, non-retaliation policies, employee rights to sue, and contact information for the state labor department.
  • Posting Requirements: Starting April 15, 2025, employers must display a poster with the required information in an accessible place in each establishment.
  • Recordkeeping Requirements: Employers must retain records for at least three years, documenting hours worked and paid sick leave taken by employees and allow the state labor department access to these records.

• Prohibitions, Penalties, and Damages:
  
  • Prohibitions:
    
    Cannot require employees to find a replacement worker to take paid sick leave, and absence control policies cannot count statutory paid sick time as an absence leading to discipline.
    
    Cannot interfere with or deny rights under the law, and retaliation or discrimination for exercising these rights is prohibited.
    
    Protections apply to those who mistakenly but in good faith allege violations and waivers of the law’s rights are void.

• Penalties and Damages:
  
  • Employees can file a complaint with the Missouri Department of Labor or pursue a private lawsuit within three years of a violation. Successful lawsuits can result in legal or equitable relief, including injunctions, unpaid sick time plus actual and liquidated damages, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.
  • Willful violations can lead to criminal liability, including infractions for notice and posting violations, class C misdemeanors for other violations, and fines up to $500 per day for each day a violation continues.

• Requesting Leave:
  
  • Employers must have a written policy for such notice and provide it to employees.
    
    Employees can request leave orally, in writing, electronically, or by any other acceptable means and should include the expected duration of the absence when possible.
    
    For foreseeable absences, employees must provide advance notice and schedule leave to minimize disruption.
    
    For unforeseeable absences, notice must be given as soon as practicable.

• Documenting Leave:
  
  • For absences of three or more consecutive workdays, employers may require reasonable documentation:
    
    Sick Time: Documentation from a healthcare professional.
    
    Safe Time: Various forms of documentation, such as police reports, statements from service providers, court documents, or a written statement from the employee.
    
    The law does not specify documentation for other uses of paid sick time (e.g., school closures).
    

• Confidentiality:
  
  • Employers cannot require disclosure of detailed health information or details of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
  • Health or safety information must be kept confidential and separate from other personnel records.

Business Considerations

• Employers should create or update their handbooks and policies to comply with the new requirements.

• Employers should provide written notice of paid sick leave benefits to employees within 14 calendar days of hire or by April 15, 2025, whichever is later.

• Employers should display a poster with information about paid sick leave rights in an accessible place in each establishment starting April 15, 2025.

Source References

• Missouri Proposition A
• Missouri Proposition A Text

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