A Missouri House bill that would undo paid sick leave protections approved by voters was filibustered to a halt early Thursday by Senate Democrats.
Proposition A passed with 57.6% of the vote in November. Some Republicans and business organizations argue that Proposition A’s mandated paid sick leave provisions are unfair to businesses.
House Bill 567 would completely remove those provisions, which say a worker would accumulate one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. It would also remove language that requires the minimum wage be regularly adjusted in line with inflation.
Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, who is handling the bill in the Senate, said the sick leave requirements are burdensome and dangerous to the economy.
“An agreement to exchange time and talent for wages and other benefits is a contract between an employee and an employer, so I don’t really think we should be getting in the middle of that,” Bernskoetter said while introducing the bill for debate. “It could have detrimental effects on our state’s business community and result in harm to the economy.”
The sick leave requirements are scheduled to go into effect on May 1.
Democrats filibustered on the Senate floor until 1 a.m. Thursday, when the Senate adjourned.
While the filibuster was ongoing, senators were attempting to negotiate a compromise, but no agreement was reached before adjournment.
Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, D-Affton, said at a press conference later Thursday that his caucus is defending a policy that Missourians decisively voted for.
“We were talking through some tough issues, coming up with some out of the box solutions, to be able to give Missourians the thing they voted for. 57% in this state. 57%. It passed in 20 Senate districts. It passed in 109 state House districts. It passed in six of eight congressional districts. That is a mandate if I’ve ever seen one,” Beck said.
During the nine-hour filibuster, Democratic senators emphasized that Proposition A passed in Republican-held districts as well as in Democrat ones.
Democrats also argued that guaranteed paid sick leave is important for people who are financially vulnerable, such as working parents who might need to miss work to take care of a sick child.
Unlike Amendment 3, which legalized abortion by amending the state constitution, Proposition A made a change to state statute. That means legislators can change it back without approval from voters. Efforts are also underway to undo Amendment 3, but anything passed by the legislature on that issue will need to return to the voters.
If the Senate takes the bill up again and makes changes, it will need to go back to the House for final approval.
The River City Journalism Fund supports St. Louis Public Radio's Statehouse internship. Evy Lewis is the 2025 reporting intern. See rcjf.org for more information about the fund, which seeks to advance journalism in St. Louis.
