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JEFFERSON CITY — Business groups are trying to overturn a new Missouri law that will raise the state minimum wage and require paid sick leave for workers.

Allied organizations filed a petition with the Missouri Supreme Court on Friday seeking to overturn Proposition A, which was supported by 57.6% of voters in the November election.

The business plaintiffs contend the proposition is unconstitutional and that a ballot summary presented to voters was “insufficient, misleading, prejudicial and unfair.”

The petition cites a allowing the Supreme Court to order a new election if “there were irregularities of sufficient magnitude to cast doubt on the validity of the initial election.”

Plaintiffs argue the fiscal and ballot summaries constitute election irregularities “of sufficient magnitude to cast doubt on the validity of the election on Proposition A.”

The groups asking the Supreme Court to set the election aside are the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Restaurant Association, Associated Industries of Missouri, the Missouri Grocers Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Missouri Forest Product Association.

“While Proposition A is bad policy and will have extreme and detrimental effects on Missouri’s businesses, that is not the basis of this action,” the petition says. “Instead the election irregularities and the constitutional violations are so significant that the election results must be overturned and Proposition A must be declared invalid.”

The business-driven petition is similar to a challenge by Kansas City to a 2022 statewide ballot question on police funding for the city.

The Supreme Court ultimately tossed the results of that election and ordered a new one.

The court agreed with Kansas City that the fiscal note for the police-related ballot question was “insufficient and unfair and constitutes an irregularity sufficient to cast doubt on the fairness of the election.”

Chuck Hatfield, a Jefferson City attorney, called the Kansas City case “huge” and, as far as he knew, the first time the state Supreme Court had set aside a vote of the people like that.

In the wage and sick leave matter, Hatfield said the plaintiffs are going to have to show that the ballot summary was so deficient that it affected the vote.

“I think that’s going to be a fairly high standard,” Hatfield said.

Supporters of Proposition A blasted the business lawsuit in a news release.

“Missouri’s working class, in lockstep with allies across the state, went to the ballot box on November 5 to overwhelmingly voice our need for paid sick days and fair wages in a free and fair election,” said Terrence Wise, leader with the Missouri Workers Center, in a statement. “It’s sickening to me that corporations are trying to steal our victory away and quiet the will of the voters who made this win possible.”

Proposition A will increase the minimum wage in Missouri to $13.75 an hour on Jan. 1, and it will go up to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2026. The current minimum wage in Missouri is $12.30, which is equivalent to $492 in a standard 40-hour work week.

Prop A also will require Missouri businesses to provide one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to five days per year for small businesses and seven days per year for larger businesses. Small businesses are those with fewer than 15 employees.

The earned sick time portion of the proposition will begin May 1.

About 728,000 Missouri workers — or about 1 in 3 — currently lack any guaranteed sick leave, according to a Missouri Budget Project analysis.

Beyond legal challenges, Proposition A could also face headwinds in the Republican-controlled state Legislature, which returns to action on Jan. 8.

Legislators could decide to repeal Proposition A or alter it. Any changes wouldn’t require another vote of the people because Proposition A only changed Missouri statute, not the state constitution.