Missouri’s higher minimum wage starts New Year’s Day despite legal challenges

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KCTV) – A new minimum wage starts Wednesday in Missouri. Now, qualified employees will make $13.75 an hour, but this new wage is facing a legal challenge from some business groups.

Effective New Year’s Day, Missouri’s new minimum wage is $13.75 cents per hour.

In 2026, it will rise to $15 an hour, and then raise each year based on the Consumer Price Index. Voters approved this change when they passed Proposition A in November.

Kara Corches with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned the raised minimum wage will lead to increased prices.

“This would put Missouri as having the ninth highest minimum wage in the country,” Corches said. “We are not the ninth highest cost of living state. So we think that you’re actually going to be paying New York and California wages in Missouri.”

The Chamber filed a lawsuit in the Missouri Supreme Court to strike down Prop A. The Chamber was joined by the Associated Industries of Missouri, the Missouri Forest Products Association, the Missouri Grocers Association, the Missouri Restaurant Association, and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in filing the petition.

Since Prop A deals with minimum wage and paid sick leave, the lawsuit claims it violates the single-subject rule, which says Missouri laws should only cover one subject. The lawsuit is awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court, but the new minimum wage is going into effect in the meantime.

Nestled in Downtown Columbia, Yellow Dog Bookshop sells new and used books. It’s a small business owned and operated by Joe Chevalier. Chevalier said he competes with large businesses for employees, which is why he wants to pay his employees as much as he can afford.

“Anything you make up by paying people less, you’re gonna lose by having to retrain the people often, because they’re gonna leave for better-paid jobs,” Chevalier said.

For this reason – he supports the raise in Missouri’s minimum wage. Chevalier is not concerned about raising prices. He thinks more money in workers’ pockets will lead to more local spending.

“If we pay workers more, they’ll have more money to spend when you spend it locally,” Chevalier said.

The part that gives employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked starts in May. Employers are required to send out written notice to their employees about that paid sick time by April 15.

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