SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

Employers in Missouri and Illinois saw the passage of several new employment-related laws in 2017. Below is a look at some legislative highlights of 2017 and how they might affect your business in 2018.

Missouri employment laws

Over the summer, the Missouri legislature took action to invalidate or cut back two ordinances passed by the city of St. Louis, causing the city’s minimum wage to revert to the statewide minimum of $7.70 per hour and making it unlawful for cities to adopt laws that would interfere with the free-speech rights of any “alternative to abortion agency” (e.g., a pregnancy resource center) or employees with objections to abortion.

On May 12, 2017, the Missouri legislature passed a bill banning cities from adopting minimum wage rates higher than the state’s current rate of $7.70/hour. By pushing this bill through the House right before the end of the legislative session, Republican lawmakers sought to reverse St. Louis city’s new $10/hour minimum wage increase, which has been in effect since May 5.

St. Louis city’s new minimum wage law increasing the minimum wage to $10 per hour takes effect May 5, 2017. This comes after a circuit court lifted its injunction that previously blocked the ordinance from taking effect.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Feb. 28, 2017, upheld St. Louis’ minimum wage ordinance, over the arguments of business groups who claimed the ordinance was preempted by Missouri state law. The decision means the minimum wage in St. Louis will increase to $10 per hour this year and $11 in 2018.

The Missouri and Illinois legislatures were quite active in 2016 in creating laws affecting employers, and they have been just as busy in the first few weeks of 2017. Below is a summary of employment law developments that may affect your business in those states in the coming year. 

Employers avoid higher wages for now, but the city is set to appeal the decision

Just hours before a St. Louis minimum wage ordinance was to take effect Oct. 15, St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven R. Ohmer struck it down. Ohmer determined that the city ordinance violates state law and declared it void and unenforceable.

Hourly minimum rises to $10 on July 1, 2015, and will reach $13 in 2019

Chicago’s Minimum Wage Ordinance takes effect July 1, 2015, raising the minimum wage to $10 per hour for non-tipped employees and $5.45 for tipped employees.

It provides for subsequent raises each July 1 until the hourly minimum wage reaches $13 for non-tipped employees in 2019. The full text of the ordinance can be found here.