State labor lawRead at source, 24 September 2026

Missouri Labor Laws for Employers (2026): Breaks, Overtime, Final Pay and Hiring

Missouri's own labor rules are short. The minimum wage is $15.00 an hour ($7.50 cash wage for tipped staff), overtime is weekly only, after 40 hours, and there is no state meal or rest break requirement for adults or minors. Paid sick leave is no longer required: the legislature repealed the voter-approved law effective August 28, 2025, and cities can't add one. A fired employee's wages are due on the day of discharge; Missouri has no statutory deadline when someone quits. Report new hires within 20 days, and get a school-issued work certificate before a child under 16 works during the school term.

Missouri employment law at a glance

Missouri's wage and hour rules are in the Missouri Minimum Wage Law (RSMo 290.500 to 290.530), older wage payment statutes elsewhere in chapter 290, and the child labor law in chapter 294. The Division of Labor Standards enforces the minimum wage and child labor laws. The last two years brought the biggest changes in decades: voters passed Proposition A in November 2024, and the legislature rewrote part of it in 2025. The table reflects the law as it stands now.

Missouri break laws

Adults. Missouri has no statute requiring a meal break or a rest break for employees 18 and over, and federal law doesn't require one either. What federal law does control is pay for breaks you choose to give: rest periods of about 5 to 20 minutes "must be counted as hours worked" (29 CFR 785.18), while a bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more, with the employee fully relieved of duty, can be unpaid. Missouri's overtime section is interpreted in line with the FLSA (RSMo 290.505), so the same line applies.

In practice, "no requirement" means your written policy sets the rule. If you schedule an unpaid lunch, make sure nobody is asked to answer the phone or watch the floor during it, or it becomes paid time.

Minors. Missouri doesn't require breaks for minors either. It limits hours instead: a child under 16 can't work more than three hours on a school day, eight hours on a non-school day, or more than six days or 40 hours in a week, and only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day) (RSMo 294.030). Federal rules for 14- and 15-year-olds are stricter in some respects, and the stricter rule applies. See child labor laws by state.

Lactation. We did not find a Missouri statute giving private-sector employees lactation breaks. The federal PUMP Act requires reasonable break time and a private space other than a bathroom, shielded from view, for one year after the child's birth.

Missouri overtime laws

Missouri requires time and a half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek (RSMo 290.505). There is no daily overtime, so a 10- or 12-hour shift doesn't trigger a premium unless the weekly total passes 40.

• Exemptions follow federal law. The overtime requirement doesn't apply to employees exempt under the federal FLSA, and the section is interpreted in accordance with the FLSA and the Portal-to-Portal Act. Missouri sets no salary threshold of its own; see exempt vs. non-exempt.
• Amusement and recreation. Employees of seasonal amusement or recreation businesses that meet the federal exemption criteria must still be paid time and a half after 52 hours a week.
• Small retail and service businesses. The state law's definition of "employee" excludes people employed by a retail or service business with annual gross sales under $500,000 (RSMo 290.500). The department notes that those employers may still be covered by the federal FLSA.

Paying employees in Missouri

Minimum wage

The Missouri minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, effective January 1, 2026 (RSMo 290.502). Tipped employees can be paid 50% of that, $7.50, as long as tips bring total pay to at least $15.00 (RSMo 290.512). No increase is scheduled: the 2025 amendments removed the annual inflation adjustment that Proposition A had set to begin in 2027. Local governments can't set a higher rate (RSMo 290.528). Our Missouri minimum wage page has the history and exceptions.

Paydays

RSMo 290.080 requires corporations doing business in Missouri to pay wages at least semimonthly, within 16 days of the close of each payroll period. Executive, administrative and professional employees, and commissions, may be paid monthly. Employers must also give employees a statement of deductions at least once a month. The statute is written for corporations and railroads; other business forms should still set regular paydays. See pay frequency laws by state.

Final paychecks

When an employer discharges an employee, with or without cause, unpaid wages "shall be and become due and payable on the day of the discharge" (RSMo 290.110). The employee can request payment in writing, and if the pay doesn't arrive within seven days of the request, wages continue to accrue as a penalty at the same rate for up to 60 days. Missouri has no statute setting a deadline when an employee quits; paying on the next regular payday is the usual practice. Whether unused vacation is paid out depends on your policy; see PTO payout laws by state.

Service letters

Missouri has an unusual rule for former employees. A corporation with seven or more employees must, on written request sent by certified mail within a year of separation, give an employee who worked at least 90 days a signed letter stating the nature and length of their service and truly stating the cause, if any, for their discharge or resignation. The letter is due within 45 days of the request (RSMo 290.140). Keep termination reasons documented so the letter is easy to write accurately.

Missouri hiring laws

Missouri adds few statewide steps before the first shift:

• Pay in job postings: not required by state law, and Missouri has no statewide salary history ban. Some cities have their own rules, so check the ordinance where the job is located.
• Criminal history: no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. If you use a background check company, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act's disclosure and adverse-action steps apply. See ban the box laws by state.
• Discrimination: the Missouri Human Rights Act covers employers with six or more employees (RSMo 213.010), a lower threshold than federal Title VII's 15.
• E-Verify: required for public employers and for businesses that receive a state or local contract or grant over $5,000, or a state tax credit, tax abatement or loan (RSMo 285.530). Other private employers may enroll voluntarily. Everyone completes Form I-9.
• New-hire reporting: send a copy of the W-4 or an equivalent form within 20 days of hire (RSMo 285.300). See new hire reporting requirements.
• Minors: a child under 16 can't be employed during the regular school term without a work certificate (RSMo 294.024), issued by the school superintendent or another authorized school official (RSMo 294.045). The department says children under 14 generally can't work at all outside agriculture, entertainment or casual jobs.

Paid leave in Missouri

Proposition A (2024) required paid sick leave from May 1, 2025. The legislature then passed HB 567, and the sick leave sections were repealed effective August 28, 2025 (RSMo 290.600 now reads "Repealed L. 2025 H.B. 567, et al."). Missouri therefore has no paid sick leave requirement. RSMo 290.528 also bars any city or county from requiring employers to provide "employment benefits," including paid or unpaid sick leave or vacation, beyond state law. Leave is a matter of your policy, plus the federal FMLA for employers with 50 or more employees. The Secretary of State's certified list for the November 3, 2026 ballot contains no minimum wage or sick leave measure.

Posters and records

Missouri requires employers subject to the minimum wage law to post a summary of it (RSMo 290.525 makes failing to post a misdemeanor). The department publishes the 2026 minimum wage poster in English and Spanish, along with other required notices, on its mandatory posters page. Keep payroll records for every employee; the state can inspect them, and the FLSA requires them for at least three years. See labor law posters by state.

Local ordinances in Missouri

Missouri preempts the local rules that most often change the answer elsewhere. RSMo 290.528 says no political subdivision may require an employer to pay a minimum or living wage, or provide employment benefits, that exceed state law, and it nullifies existing ordinances that do. So St. Louis and Kansas City employers pay the same $15.00 minimum and follow the same leave rules as everyone else. Cities can still regulate other parts of hiring, such as criminal history and salary history questions, so check the ordinance where the job is located.

What this means when you're hiring hourly workers in Missouri

Missouri's floor moved from $12.30 in 2024 to $15.00 in 2026, according to the department's rate history, and it isn't scheduled to move again. That makes 2027 the first year in a while when the legal minimum won't reset your pay ranges for you, so the rate you advertise is a market decision. Put it in the first line of the ad with the shift and the town, keep the application short enough to finish on a phone, and follow up the same day. Without a paid sick leave law, a line saying you offer paid time off is also worth including if you do. In Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark of 891 Meta job campaigns, 70% of the difference in cost per applicant between campaigns came from what happened after the click. Our job ad copywriting guide and employee cost calculator help you set the number and say it clearly.

Frequently asked questions

Rules read in the Revised Statutes of Missouri and at the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, 24 September 2026. General information, not legal advice.