Missouri Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to repeal portions of a voter-approved law that allowed employees to earn paid sick leave and a higher minimum wage.
Members of the Senate voted 22-11 to pass legislation that repeals parts of Proposition A, which Missouri voters approved in November with 57.6% of the vote.
Only one Republican, Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, joined all 10 Democrats in voting no.
“What we saw today was the Republican supermajority, whether they did it because of corporate greed or their corporate overlords telling them what to do, they took away sick pay for millions of workers in the state of Missouri,” Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, D-Affton, said.
Currently, through Proposition A, workers can earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
Proposition A also raised the minimum wage to an eventual $15 an hour in 2026 and tied minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index, meaning minimum wage increases would be tied to the CPI beginning in 2027.
On Jan. 1 of this year, the minimum wage rose to $13.75 an hour. It will rise again to $15 an hour in 2026.
The paid sick leave portion of the law went into effect on May 1.
However, the new legislation repeals the entire the paid sick leave portion as well as the tie-in to the CPI, so the minimum wage would not increase after 2026.
Because Proposition A is a statute change, lawmakers can change the policy without residents voting.
Senate Republicans stopped a potential Democrat filibuster with a rarely used procedural move to force a vote on the legislation.
The Senate used the same move, called a previous question, to force a vote on an amendment that would once again ban most abortions in the state.
Afterward, the Senate ended this year’s session, which was scheduled to last until 6 p.m. Friday.
Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, said no one wants to see that motion in the Senate but believes it was time for one.
“We got through those, as you saw, in a very amicable way, very respectful way. So, we have ended session,” Bean said.
However, Senate Democrats expressed outrage over the action, with several saying this decision will carry over into future sessions.
“Moving forward, we're going to operate with an assumption that the Republicans don't respect their fellow senators, they don't respect the voters, they don't respect the process, they don't respect the institution. And we didn't pick this fight, but we're not scared of it,” Sen. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, said.
Wednesday marked the third time that the Senate brought up this legislation.
Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, handled the bill. Speaking the first time it was up for debate, he said it hindered businesses.
“It creates a one-size-fits-all for all businesses to follow, and businesses should be able to tailor their workplace policies to best meet the needs of their company and their employees,” Bernskoetter said.
The first two times the bill was up for debate, lawmakers spent hours negotiating the legislation without reaching a final compromise.
Because the legislation, which was previously approved by the House, was unchanged by the Senate, the bill now goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe.
