The Missouri Labor Law Guide

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate an employer is legally required to pay. The federal rate is a baseline, and states, cities, and regions can set their own higher rates.

The statewide rate is $15.00 per hour for most employees.

Missouri enforces a small-business exemption. Retail or service businesses whose annual gross volume of sales or business done is less than $500,000 are exempt from the state minimum wage requirement. Those businesses must still comply with the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour if they are covered under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The minimum wage is set at the state level. Local municipalities are preempted by state law from setting their own rates above the state or federal baseline, so the $15.00 rate applies identically across all covered employers in the state.

The tipped minimum wage is the lowest hourly base pay for eligible employees who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.

The current rate is $7.50 per hour for eligible tipped employees.

Missouri lets covered employers take a 50% tip credit against the state's standard $15.00 per hour minimum wage. If an employee's $7.50 cash wage plus actual earned tips do not reach at least $15.00 per hour for the workweek, the employer must pay the difference. Retail or service businesses with less than $500,000 in annual gross sales are exempt from this state rate but must still comply with the federal minimum wage.

Missouri requires covered, non-exempt employees to be paid overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate for every hour worked over 40 in a single workweek.

Missouri exempts retail and service establishments from state overtime law if their annual gross volume of sales is less than $500,000. Those employers must still comply with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which may independently require overtime pay when employees engage in interstate commerce. Missouri also provides a specific overtime exemption for certain seasonal amusement and recreational businesses.

Missouri wage and hour law generally does not require employers to provide meal periods or rest breaks to adult or youth employees.

There is one strict exception: youth workers under the age of 16 employed in the entertainment industry cannot work more than 5.5 hours without a meal break, and they must be provided a 15-minute paid rest period after every two hours of continuous work.

Because Missouri does not mandate breaks for most industries, employers default to the federal payment rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA):

• Rest breaks: if an employer offers short breaks (usually 20 minutes or less), that time counts as compensable working hours and must be paid.
• Meal periods: bona fide meal periods (usually 30 minutes or more) do not need to be paid, provided the employee is completely relieved of all work duties for the entire period.

Under federal law, an employer is not required to let an employee leave the premises for a meal period to keep it legally unpaid, so long as the employee is completely freed from active or inactive work duties.

Vacation leave

Missouri does not require employers to provide paid time off. Employers can offer paid or unpaid vacation leave at their discretion.

Accrued, unused vacation does not have to be paid out at termination unless the employer's written policy or employment contract explicitly guarantees the payout. Use-it-or-lose-it policies and forfeiture rules are legally permitted.

Paid sick leave

As of 2026, Missouri has no state law requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave. Employers may set their own sick leave policies at their discretion.

The mandatory paid sick leave requirements previously enacted by voters under Proposition A were fully repealed by the state legislature via HB 567, effective August 28, 2025. Employers are no longer required to provide statutory paid sick time, though covered employers must still comply with the unpaid leave requirements of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Holidays

Missouri does not require private employers to provide paid holidays, unpaid holiday leave, or premium pay for working a holiday. Any holiday time off or extra holiday compensation is offered strictly at the employer's discretion.

Missouri's Child Labor Law primarily applies to minors under the age of 16.

Work certificates and permits

• General employment: minors who are 14 or 15 must obtain a Work Certificate to hold a job during the school year. The minor applies in person, and the certificate is issued locally by the superintendent (or authorized principal) of the child's school. The application requires job details from the employer, parental consent, and age verification.
• Entertainment industry: youth under 16 working in entertainment must obtain a specialized Work Permit directly from the Director of the Missouri Division of Labor Standards.

Minimum age and casual work exceptions

Minors under 14 are generally prohibited from working. The only legal exceptions are:

• Children employed in agriculture or the entertainment industry.
• Children employed in a non-hazardous business entirely owned by their parent or guardian.
• Casual work: minors (including those over 12 years old) may perform casual, non-hazardous jobs such as delivering newspapers, babysitting, occasional yard work (with parental consent), or refereeing youth sporting events (provided they do not work in a concession stand). While Missouri exempts these casual roles, employers must still comply with the federal FLSA, which generally sets 14 as the minimum age for traditional W-2 employment.

Limits on working hours (under 16)

Because covered Missouri employers must also follow the stricter federal FLSA standards, 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 in a single workweek.
• More than 18 hours per week when school is in session (federal FLSA standard).
• More than 40 hours per week when school is not in session.
• Before 7:00 AM on any day.
• After 7:00 PM from Labor Day through May 31 (school year).
• After 9:00 PM from June 1 through Labor Day (summer).

Employer posting requirements

Employers must keep all minor work certificates on file and must prominently post a list of all employees under the age of 16 in a conspicuous place within the workplace, such as a breakroom notice board.