Today, the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis, Missouri lifted an injunction that had blocked a St. Louis City ordinance increasing the minimum wage for St. Louis City businesses. This action came after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that state law did not prohibit the higher local minimum wage.
Now that the injunction has been lifted, the minimum wage for approximately 10,000 businesses in the City of St. Louis will increase to $10 per hour, effective tomorrow, May 5, 2017. The minimum wage will again increase to $11 per hour on January 1, 2018.
Employers that gross less than $500,000 per year, or have fewer than 15 employees, are exempt from the ordinance. Likewise, the ordinance does not apply to employees who work less than 20 hours per calendar year.
While there are legislative efforts underway in Jefferson City to reverse the outcome and avoid the issues raised by the Missouri Supreme Court, these efforts remain in preliminary stages and it is unknown whether they will be successful.
Additionally, the City’s informational website on the new minimum wage is located at www.stlouis-mo.gov/minimum-wage/.
This blog post was drafted by Megan Meadows, an Associate in the Spencer Fane LLP St. Louis office. For more information, visit spencerfane.com.
