By Ray McCarty, president/CEO, Associated Industries of Missouri
September 9, 2024 - Associated Industries of Missouri is opposed to Proposition A, the ballot initiative proposal that will appear on the November 5, 2024 ballot. If approved, the measure will:
Increase the minimum wage in Missouri to $13.75/hr. effective 1/1/25 and to $15/hr. effective 1/1/26, with an annual increase in the minimum wage based on inflation;
Require all businesses provide paid sick leave at the rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked;
Mandate business owners allow workers to use the paid sick leave up to the following number of hours per year, based on the number of employees as follows:
More than 15 employees: Employees may use up to 56 hours per year;
Less than 15 employees: Employees may use up to 40 hours per year;
Prevent employers from requiring documentation from a healthcare professional for sick leave used unless the employee uses three consecutive days of leave;
Prohibit employers from asking details about a health condition or domestic abuse situation for which the leave is being used;
Prevent employers from counting paid leave taken by employees "as an absence that may lead to or result in discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension or any other adverse action;" and,
Allow lawsuits to be filed against employers for "retaliatory personnel action" or "discriminating" against employees using the paid sick leave.
Liberal interests from outside Missouri, including George Soros' Open Society Policy Center, and organized labor groups are responsible for the bulk of funding for the campaign supporting Proposition A.
Why is Associated Industries of Missouri opposed to Proposition A?
Associated Industries of Missouri is opposed to the minimum wage AND mandatory paid sick leave provisions in Proposition A. This is a state-mandated benefit for employees and cost for employers. At AIM, we believe employers should be free to set their own sick leave and associated requirements for using that leave and we oppose any measure that creates new ways to sue employers.
Wages will increase for all employees
Of course, the minimum wage increase is troubling as it increases wages for everyone - not just the minimum wage workers. As minimum wage increases, employers must pay more for all their employees because they see the newer or less skilled workers getting paid more. In today's competitive environment, very few are actually paying minimum wage, but when minimum wage increases, the rising tide raises all boats, increasing costs for all business owners and operators. And we know increasing wages causes price inflation. Consider the dramatic increase in restaurant and fast food prices after the minimum wage increases that we have already experienced due to the passage of the first statewide initiative in 2018.
The measure applies to employers of all sizes
Even more troubling is the part of the amendment that requires ALL employers to provide paid sick leave under the terms and conditions set by the initiative. Those with less than 15 employees may allow workers to only use 40 hours of sick leave per year, but they are still required to provide paid sick leave.
No doctor's note? No problem
Another astonishing provision states an employer may not require a doctor's note unless the employee uses three or more consecutive sick days. A problematic employee that is abusing sick leave may take two consecutive days at a time and an employer may not require healthcare documentation! If the employer requires such documentation, they would be interfering with the ability of the employee to take the sick leave and could be subject to a lawsuit.
Penalties for employers
Section 290.624 provides an employer that fails to comply with any of the sick leave requirements "shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor" and "each day of violation and each employee affected shall constitute a separate offense."
Trial attorney provisions
But the part of the proposal the plaintiffs' attorneys love is the language in section 290.627 that states:
"Any individual who claims to have been aggrieved by a failure of an employer to comply with any portion of sections 290.600 through 290.642, including but not limited to the failure to provide earned paid sick time or to allow employees to use such time consistent with sections 290.600 through 290.642, or who claims to have suffered a retaliatory personnel action, shall have a right of action and may commence a civil action in the appropriate court of jurisdiction within three years of the accrual of the cause of action, to obtain appropriate relief with respect to such unlawful violation. Such action may be brought without first filing an administrative complaint."
Remedies available to employees include a requirement that the employer pay triple the amount of sick leave that was denied, attorneys fees for the employee, and reinstatement of employment and back pay.
Don't ask why
Employees may use the paid sick leave for domestic violence situations also, but the employer may not ask for details of the situation. In fact, employers may not require disclosure by the employee of any employee or family member's health information as a condition for taking the paid sick leave!
Already provide PTO?
The measure allows employers that provide generic paid time off that may be used for either vacation or sick leave to avoid providing sick leave under this section, but the employer must allow the employee to use the time under the same terms as provided in the proposal.
What about our labor contract?
The measure exempts current labor contracts but the new provisions would apply at the next renewal of a labor contract.
Unused sick leave carries forward
Employers must allow an employee to carry forward up to 80 hours of paid sick leave that are unused at the end of the year, or may pay the employee for the time not used.
Multiple ballot questions and inaccurate "fair ballot language"
Proposition A contains at least two, and possibly up to seven, distinct questions in one single ballot question. Art. III, Sec. 50 of the Missouri Constitution states, "Petitions for laws shall contain not more than one subject which shall be expressed clearly in the title..." The official ballot title for Proposition A lists five separate subjects. Here is the official ballot title:
"Do you want to amend Missouri law to:
increase minimum wage January 1, 2025 to $13.75 per hour, increasing $1.25 per hour each year until 2026, when the minimum wage would be $15.00 per hour;
adjust minimum wage based on changes in the Consumer Price Index each January beginning in 2027;
require all employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked;
allow the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to provide oversight and enforcement; and
exempt governmental entities, political subdivisions, school districts and education institutions?"
Although a court may find that the two parts of the question dealing with minimum wage are one subject, the paid sick leave mandate is a separate subject, as is the Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations enforcement of the paid sick leave requirements and the exemption for public employees.
Voters wishing to increase the minimum wage may oppose the paid sick leave provisions, but their only option is to support both the minimum wage increase and the paid sick leave mandate, or oppose both provisions.
There are also two major parts of the proposition that are not included at all in the question that will be presented to voters:
Should a private cause of action be created if an employee believes they have been discriminated against or experienced retaliation due to their use of sick leave?
Should an employer be prevented from requiring an excuse from a healthcare professional to use the paid sick leave?
In addition, the "fair ballot language" is incorrect. The "fair ballot language" must be printed and published next to sample ballots at polling locations according to section 116.025, RSMo, and the statements must be "true." The fair ballot language for Proposition A does not include the fact that employers with fewer than 15 employees will be required to provide paid sick leave! If a person reads the "fair ballot language" they will believe the proposal does not impact small businesses, but it will.
Who is contributing to the campaign to pass Proposition A?
Eighty percent of money raised to support Proposition A came from two sources: George Soros-funded organizations and a group comprised of multiple organized labor organizations. Most of the money supporting the campaign came from outside Missouri.
George Soros' Open Society Policy Center and associated funds have contributed more than 2/3 of the amount raised by Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages, the political action committee formed to support Proposition A. Of the $4,186,016 raised by that PAC as of yesterday, $2,786,186 was received from Soros organizations, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Fairness Project, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, and Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement (MOVE) Action. Although Jobs with Justice groups received some Soros funding, they are also supported by multiple organized labor organizations, so the $560,000 they have contributed to the campaign were excluded from the Soros contribution total.
The Proposition A campaign is funded by both the national Open Society Policy Center, funded directly by George Soros, and another Soros "dark money" progressive fund called "Sixteen Thirty Fund" which received $23.9 million from the Open Society Policy Center in 2021, according to that fund's 2021 tax form as reported by CNBC (read more here). The Sixteen Thirty Fund has donated $2,309,600 as of yesterday to the campaign to pass Proposition A. The Open Society Policy Center has directly donated $250,000 to the campaign. The Fairness Project, a Washington, DC, group that also receives funding from Open Society, contributed $125,000 on August 19, 2024, to the campaign. Other groups heavily supported directly and indirectly by Soros' various foundations, including the "Jobs with Justice" and allied funds, contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaign.
SUMMARY
Proposition A will appear on the ballot in the November 5, 2024 election. If you would like to read the full 10 page proposal, click HERE.