The Missouri Department of Labor announces the state minimum wage rate for 2019 has been established, according to state law, at $8.60, effective January 1, 2019.
All private businesses are required to pay at minimum, the $8.60 hourly rate, except retail and service businesses whose annual gross sales, are less than $500,000. Pursuant to Proposition B, which was approved by Missouri voters November 6, 2018, the minimum wage will increase 85 cents per hour each year through 2023. Missouri law does not apply to public employers, nor does it allow the state’s minimum wage rate to be lower than the federal minimum wage rate.
Compensation for tipped employees must also total at least $8.60 per hour. Employers are required to pay tipped employees at least 50 percent of the minimum wage, plus any amount necessary to bring the employee’s total compensation to a minimum of $8.60 per hour.
