On September 16, 2015, the Missouri legislature overrode Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of a bill that prohibited local municipalities from adopting any minimum wage above the rate specified by Missouri state law (currently $7.65 per hour).  The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour.

The effect of this legislative development is that the Kansas City, Missouri City Ordinance passed on July 15, 2015 by the Kansas City, Missouri Council establishing an $8.50 per hour minimum wage effective August 24, 2015, which would increase to $13 per hour by 2020 will not take effect.  This ordinance provided that employers who violated it would be subject to a fine of as much as $1,000 for each employee for every week the employer was in violation of the law.  Similarly, a ballot initiative to increase the minimum wage in Kansas City, Missouri to $10.10 per hour in 2015 and eventually to $15 per hour by 2020 will not be submitted to Kansas City, Missouri voters and will not become law.  On September 22, 2015, a Jackson County Missouri Judge ruled that the petition initiative to increase the minimum wage would be removed from the ballot in light of the above referenced action by the Missouri legislature.

This legislative development also means that the ordinance passed in St. Louis on August 28, 2015 establishing a $11.00 per hour minimum wage in St. Louis by 2016 will not take effect either.  However, it is possible that proponents of an increased minimum wage may try to put the measure on a ballot in a future statewide election.

Remember, if you have employees working in states or cities (outside Missouri) that have established minimum wage rates above the federal minimum wage rate, you need to pay employees in those locations the minimum required by applicable state laws and city ordinances.

If you have any questions about any of the foregoing or other labor and employment law developments, feel free to contact your regular attorney at Seigfreid Bingham for advice on these matters.