Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe repealed the paid sick leave portion of a ballot measure that voters approved with nearly 60% support in the 2024 election, reports The Associated Press.
Missouri residents voted to require employers to provide workers with an hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours of work. The Missouri Budget Project the paid sick leave benefits would help 728,000 private-sector workers.
Kehoe defied the will of the voters and signed H.B. 567, which eliminates paid sick leave and restricts increases in the state’s minimum wage, even though residents voted to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2026 and indexing it to inflation thereafter.
Kehoe’s choice to override the will of the people pleased Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents corporations. Their toadies included state Rep. Sherri Gallick (R-62) and state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-6) who wrote H.B. 567.
(Source: The Associated Press, Image: Gov. Mike Kehoe/Facebook)