The Missouri Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate that employers are legally obligated to pay employees. The federal minimum wage is a wage baseline, but different states, cities, and regions can adopt their own rates. 

$12.30 per hour for most employees (as of 2024)

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Tipped minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate employers are legally obligated to pay nonexempt employees who earn a significant portion of their income through tips. 

As of 2024, the minimum hourly wage for most tipped employees is $6.15 per hour plus any amount necessary to bring the total tips plus wages to minimum wage.

Missouri requires non-exempt employees to be paid overtime wages equal to 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for every hour worked over 40 hours within a workweek. Missouri exempts retail establishments from its overtime law if annual gross volume is less than $500,000.

Missouri wage and hour laws do not generally have any rules requiring an employer to provide a meal period or breaks to nonexempt employees, so in their case, the federal rule applies. The federal rule does not require an employer to provide either a meal period or breaks. 

However, if an employer chooses to do so, breaks, usually lasting less than twenty minutes, must be paid. Meal or lunch periods (usually thirty minutes or more) do not need to be paid, so long as the employee is completely relieved of all duties and free to do as they wish during the meal or lunch period.

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Vacation leave
Missouri does not require employers to provide paid time off to their employees. The employer can choose to offer vacation leave at their discretion. 

Paid Sick Leave
Missouri does not have state laws requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave. However, employers can have their own sick policies. 

Holidays
Missouri does not require employers to provide holiday leave to their employees.

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Missouri’s Child Labor Law applies to minors under the age of 16. Minors who are 14-15 years old need a work certificate or work permit from the Missouri Division of Labor Standards to work. The certificates are issued by the superintendent of the child’s school and require information from the employer about job details, parental consent, and age verification. The minor must apply in person for the work certificate.

Minors under 14 are not permitted to work at any job. The only exceptions are in the agriculture, entertainment, or casual jobs industries and children employed by their parent or guardian.

Minors over 12 years old may be employed to:

• Sell and deliver newspapers and magazines.

• Care for children.

• Perform occasional yardwork, with parent or guardian permission.

• Participate in activities related to youth sporting events, including refereeing and coaching, but they may not work in a concession stand.

Minors under 16 cannot work:

•  More than 3 hours on a school day 

• More than 8 hours on a non-school day

• More than 6 days a week

• More than 40 hours a week

• Before 7 AM

• After 7 PM from Labor Day to June 1

• After 9 PM from June 1 to Labor Day

Employers must post a list of all employees under age 16 in a conspicuous place in the workplace.

Hiring
The Missouri Human Rights Act (the Act) states that it’s illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment (from hiring to firing) on any of the following characteristics:

• Race

• Color

• Religion

• National origin

• Ancestry

• Sex

• Disability

• Age (40 through 69)

Firing
Missouri employers have the right to terminate employees at will for nearly any reason and no reason at all as long as no employment contract is being broken and the reason is not discriminatory, retaliatory, or otherwise unlawful.