JEFFERSON CITY — Tuesday is the deadline for Missouri employers to hang new posters outlining voter-approved changes to the state’s minimum wage and paid sick leave laws.

But, with the Republican-controlled Legislature considering a plan by business groups to repeal some of the changes and the Missouri Supreme Court weighing a challenge of the law by business groups, the mandate has left some businesses waiting for direction.

“We are in a very gray area,” said Dan Shaul, lobbyist for the Missouri Grocers’ Association and the Missouri Retailers Association. “Retailers and business owners just want some certainty and predictability.”

In November, Missouri voters approved Proposition A, requiring employers with yearly business receipts greater than $500,000 to provide at least one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. Companies with fewer than 15 workers must allow workers to use at least 40 hours per year, with larger employers mandated to allow at least 56 hours.

The ballot initiative, which was approved by 57% of the voters, also increased the state minimum wage. It was set at $13.75 on Jan. 1 and will increase to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2026.

The new law includes a provision that employers must post a notice about the changes beginning Tuesday. The actual law goes into effect May 1.

For now, Shaul said businesses are being told to post a notice written by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations beginning Tuesday, but to pay attention to what is happening in the capital city.

“If something does happen to change the timeline, they and their employees will be equally informed,” Shaul said.

Legislation repealing the sick leave provisions moved out of the House last month and is pending in the Senate.

Supporters say the sick leave mandate is likely to increase the workload on other employees. Time off should be left up to individual businesses to determine, business groups say.

“This issue should be decided between and employer and employee,” Rep. Sherri Gallick, R-Belton, told a Senate panel in March.

“The entire business community is in lockstep, arm in arm, that this is going to hurt business,” Shaul said.

Negotiations are underway to make the changes more palatable to union groups.

Included in those negotiations is the use of an emergency clause, which would repeal the law immediately upon the signature of the governor.

Without the emergency provision, the law will go into effect Aug. 28.

The Supreme Court could issue its decision in the case as early as Tuesday. Business groups want the seven-member panel to torpedo the changes.

A decision by the court could have an effect on what happens across the street in the Capitol building.

Meanwhile, attorneys for employers are advising their clients to follow the law as it is currently written.

“Although it is unclear whether the Paid Sick Leave Law will withstand legislative and judicial challenges, employers need to comply with the April 15 notice deadline and prepare to provide paid sick leave as of May 1, 2025,” the law firm Thompson Coburn noted in a message to its clients.

The legislation is House Bill 567.