HPP: On Wednesday, January 1, 2025, Missouri’s minimum wage increased to $13.75 per hour. Beginning on May 1, employees will now earn one hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours they work in the state.
Proposition A, a ballot question approved by Missouri voters in the general election held in November, is responsible for the shift. On January 1, 2026, the bill will raise the state minimum wage once more to $15 per hour.
On Friday, December 13, several business associations from Missouri filed a lawsuit against the proposal. They claim that by addressing both pay and sick leave in a single proposition, the initiative, which received 57.6% of the state’s popular vote, breaches the single-subject requirement for ballot issues.
Proposition A and the corresponding rise in the minimum wage are in force until the lawsuit can be heard in court. Here are some facts regarding the potential effects of the new wage regulations on the economies of Kansas and Missouri.
What is changing for workers in Missouri?
Missouri’s minimum wage was supposed to be inflation-indexed prior to the passage of Proposition A. The Missouri Department of Labor stated that the minimum wage of $12.30 in 2024 would increase to $12.65 in 2025. However, Proposition A increased that rise by more than $1, making workers $13.75.
Missouri now has the 18th-highest minimum wage in the nation as a result of this adjustment. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 20 states, including Kansas, adhere to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, while Washington, D.C., has the highest, at $17.50 per hour.
Missouri’s new minimum wage law does not apply to government employers, such as school districts and social service organizations.
In Missouri, tipped workers are required to get at least half of the state minimum wage per hour, with tips covering the remaining amount. That makes the hourly tipped wage $6.88 as of January 1. Employers must compensate their staff to make up the gap if tips don’t raise their hourly wage to $13.75.
The ability of employees to accrue paid sick leave is another significant change in Missouri. Employees will accrue one paid hour of sick leave for every thirty hours worked as of May 1. This implies that it will take six whole 40-hour work weeks to collect eight hours of paid sick leave.
What will be the minimum wage in Kansas in 2025?
Kansas’ minimum wage stays at the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour, whereas Missouri’s is increasing. This is noteworthy because on New Year’s Day, the minimum wages in three of the four states that border Kansas all went up:
- The minimum wage in Nebraska increased from $12 to $13.50.
- The minimum wage in Colorado increased from $14.42 to $14.81.
- The minimum wage in Missouri increased from $12.30 to $13.75.
The only state that borders Kansas that maintains the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is Oklahoma.
According to economist Donna Ginther, a distinguished professor of economics and the head of the University of Kansas’ Institute for Policy and Social Research, the state’s consistently low minimum wage has resulted in low unemployment and a shortage of workers.
New Data Privacy Regulation: Nebraskans Now Can Choose Not to Have Their Data Sold
Employers in Kansas are allowed to establish internal minimum wages that are higher than the state minimum. In June 2024, the University of Kansas declared that it will raise the minimum pay for its staff to $17.20 per hour and for its student employees to $10.25 per hour, mirroring the wage required for federal contractors.
However, a lot of firms continue to decide not to pay their employees more than the legally mandated minimum wage, which Ginther claims is a factor in Kansas’ slowing population growth.
How much does it cost to live in Kansas and Missouri?
The bare minimum required to pay for essentials like food, housing, and healthcare is known as a livable wage. Based on the cost of living, MIT’s Living Wage Calculator offers estimates for a number of states and locations.
A single adult without children in Missouri makes $20.20 per hour. The living wage for a family of four with two working adults is $24.31 per hour.
It’s greater in Kansas City, where both working adults in a family of four must make $25.64 per hour.
New Bill Proposed to Sell Wine and Beer in Grocery Stores Across Maryland
An adult without children who works alone in Kansas makes $20.35 per hour. The living wage for a family of four with two working adults is $23.65 per hour.
A family of four in Wyandotte County need both working adults to make $23.09 per hour. The hourly living wage in Johnson County is $27.05.
Employers are not required to pay anything close to the livable wage in either state. Ginther clarified, however, that Kansas’ resistance to raising its pay floor does not always represent the wishes of the state’s citizens. Like Missourians did in November, she said Kansans would vote to raise their minimum wage if it were on the ballot.