Missouri Minimum Wage Local Preemption

RSMo 71.010 declares that no city, town, village, or county may establish, mandate, or otherwise require an employer to provide a minimum wage greater than the state minimum wage. The Missouri General Assembly enacted this preemption in 2015 specifically to nullify minimum wage ordinances passed in St. Louis and Kansas City, and the Missouri Supreme Court in Cooperative Home Care v. City of St. Louis later confirmed the state's authority over local wage rules. The state minimum wage itself is set by RSMo 290.502, which voters increased through Proposition A in 2018 and Proposition A in 2024 to provide statewide cost-of-living adjustments. Localities can encourage higher wages through procurement and economic development incentives, but they cannot legislate them.

Local wage ordinances exceeding the state floor are unenforceable. Employers paying state minimum wage are protected from local sanctions, and aggrieved parties may seek declaratory or injunctive relief.