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In a meeting of the Senate General Laws Committee, the organizations said legislation stripping a sick leave provision out of a law approved by 57% of Missouri voters in November would help companies avoid reducing their workforces or closing their doors.

“There is a fix. It is to eliminate this,� said Buddy Lahl, the CEO of the Missouri Restaurant Association. “It’s a slippery slope we’re heading down here.�

“We really believe this legislation is a job killer,� added Kara Corches, president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The hearing, which is the latest stop for the bill as it moves through the Legislature, featured a lengthy list of interest groups supporting Rep. Sherri Gallick’s proposal.

“I’m fearful this could impact Missouri businesses,� said Gallick, R-Belton.

Democrats and advocates for workers called the move a mistake.

“I am troubled as a consumer, a customer, that people would have to go to work sick,� said Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette.

The measure, which advanced out of the House earlier this month, requires 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 successful ballot initiative 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.

Gallick told the panel that the sick leave mandate increases the workload on other employees. Time off should be left up to individual businesses to determine.

“This issue should be decided between and employer and employee,� Gallick said.

Richard Von Glahn, organizing director of Missouri Jobs with Justice, which backed the ballot initiative, said the new Missouri requirements are modeled after those in 15 other states.

He said the campaign was successful in both Democrat and Republican areas of the state.

“It won in rural counties, suburban counties and urban counties,� Von Glahn said.

The debate about overturning the will of the voters is not new in the GOP-controlled Legislature. Lawmakers previously attempted to block the implementation of a voter-approved expansion of Medicaid and overrode a voter-endorsed legislative redistricting initiative.

House Speaker Jon Patterson defended the latest maneuver in an opinion piece Tuesday in the Kansas City Star, saying changes are needed in the sick leave provisions to avoid job losses and company closures.

Specifically, he argued that the sick time provisions could lead to employees taking time off with little notice, leaving employers without key workers.

“As a physician who has worked across many health care facilities, I know firsthand the chaos this will cause Missouri health care systems. A nurse in an intensive care unit taking care of critically ill patients will now be able to take sick leave at any time of the day, in as many minute increments as they choose,� he wrote.

“As businesses are preparing to comply with the new law, it has become clear that Prop A mandates will be a heavy financial burden for many of them. This change will result in employees being let go, companies going out of business, and will make businesses think twice about opening in or relocating to Missouri,� Patterson added.

The legislative action comes as business groups are fighting the changes on a different front. Earlier this month, they took their case to the Missouri Supreme Court, hoping the seven-member panel will torpedo the changes.

The Senate panel voted Wednesday to recommend the bill.

The legislation is House Bi

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the committee did not vote on the measure.