Missouri governor repeals paid sick leave law approved last year by voters

By DAVID A LIEB JEFFERSON CITY Mo AP Eight months after voters approved it Missouri Gov Mike Kehoe signed the repeal of a law Thursday that had guaranteed paid sick leave to workers and inflationary adjustments to the minimum wage Related Articles Satellite photos suggest Iran attack on Qatar air base hit geodesic dome used for US communications Pennsylvania man who posted video of father s severed head online is discovered guilty of murder Bitcoin tops for the first time and keeps on going How US views of immigration have changed since Trump took office according to Gallup polling The present day in History July the fall of Srebrenica The move marked a major domination for the state s largest business group and a frustrating defeat for workers rights advocates who had spent years and millions of dollars building backing for the triumphant ballot measure The repeal will take effect Aug Kehoe who also signed a package of tax breaks Thursday described the paid sick leave law as an onerous mandate that imposed burdensome record-keeping In the current era we are protecting the people who make Missouri work families job creators and small business owners by cutting taxes rolling back overreach and eliminating costly mandates Kehoe a Republican announced in a message circulated after a private bill-signing ceremony The new tax law excludes capital gains from individual state income taxes expands tax breaks for seniors and disabled residents and exempts diapers and feminine hygiene products from sales taxes Richard von Glahn who sponsored the worker benefit ballot initiative declared numerous parents felt forced to go to work instead of staying home to care for a sick child in order to pay for their rent or utilities The governor signing this bill is an absolute betrayal to those families and it hurts my heart reported von Glahn framework director for Missouri Jobs With Justice About one-third of states mandate paid sick leave but a large number of businesses voluntarily provide it Nationwide of private-sector employees received paid sick leave last year though part-time workers were significantly less likely to receive the benefit than full-time employees according to Department of Labor material Voters in Alaska Missouri and Nebraska all approved paid sick leave measures last November Only Alaska s which kicked in on July has remained unchanged by state lawmakers Before Nebraska s measure could take effect Oct Republican Gov Jim Pillen signed a measure last month exempting businesses with or fewer employees from the paid sick leave requirements The revision also lets businesses withhold paid sick leave from seasonal agricultural workers and - and -year-olds Missouri s law allowed employees to earn one hour of paid sick time for every hours worked starting May By the time it s repealed weeks will have elapsed That means someone working hours a week could have earned hours of paid sick leave If workers don t use their paid sick leave before Aug there s no legal guarantee they can do so afterward The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry had made repealing the law its top legislative priority The paid leave and minimum wage policies were a job killer chamber President and CEO Kara Corches commented But Missouri voters could get a second chance at mandating paid sick leave Von Glahn has submitted a proposed ballot initiative to the secretary of state that would reinstate the repealed provisions Because the new measure is a constitutional amendment the Legislature would be unable to revise or repeal it without another vote of the people Supporters haven t decided whether to launch a petition drive to try to qualify the measure for the ballot