Proposed 'Entrepreneur Rights Act' Would Shield Some Missouri Businesses From Minimum Wage Increases

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Small businesses and seasonal businesses would be exempted from any more minimum wage increases, under a bill pre-filed by a newly elected state representative in Missouri.

HB 546, dubbed the Entrepreneur Rights Act, was filed this week by State Representative-elect Jeff Vernetti, who will represent District 123 (Camden County).

Reader Poll: Should Some Businesses Be Exempt From Minimum Wage Increases?

The Entrepreneur Rights Act, filed by State Rep-elect Jeff Vernetti (R-123), would exempt Small Businesses and Seasonal Businesses from future minimum wage increases. Government entities and public school districts are already exempt from the latest minimum wage law. Do you think some businesses should be exempted?

Yes, Small Businesses & Seasonal Businesses should be exempt

All businesses should be exempt

No businesses should be exempt, but government entities and school districts should be

No business, government entity, or school district should be exempt

The bill comes only a month after Missourians voted to pass Proposition A, that will raise the state-mandated minimum wage to $13.75/hr in 2025 and $15/hr by 2026, with annual CPI-based increases every year afterward. The law, which appeared on the November ballot, passed with 57.6% Yes votes and 42.4% No votes.

"This could actually make a number of businesses throughout the state go out of business, creating fewer jobs and less opportunities," Vernetti, an entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses in the Lake of the Ozarks area, said of the new minimum wage hike.

State Representative Jeff Vernetti — Tim Bommel, MO House of Rep.

"I want employees to make whatever they can make, but many businesses are being forced into a wage increase and paid time leave requirements that they cannot afford," he added.

Vernetti's District 123 is unique in that it contains the largest county at one of Missouri's largest seasonal tourism destinations: Lake of the Ozarks. He says the seasonal businesses that serve those tourists were definitely on his mind when he filed the bill. "In our market, seasonal businesses make up a vast majority of our businesses that service the tourism industry," he said. "These businesses especially would be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional expenses and many of them will not be able to afford this commitment."

Government entities and public school districts were specifically exempted from the new minimum wage increase approved by Missourians through Proposition A. If passed, HB546 would add two categories of businesses to that group.

Just The Facts
Exempting Businesses From Missouri Minimum Wage Hikes, With HB 546
• Bill filed by State Rep-elect Jeff Vernetti (District 123, Camden County)
• Vernetti says the bill has broad support in the business community and among lawmakers
• Government entities and public school districts are already exempt from Missouri's latest minimum wage increase
• The bill would add two categories of businesses to that group:
1. Small Businesses, defined as a business that:
-is independently owned and operated,
-employs fifty or fewer full- or part-time employees,
-has a place of business in and is headquartered in the state of Missouri, and
-employs at least eighty percent of its employees in Missouri.
2. Seasonal Businesses, defined as an employer whose operations and business are substantially all in an industry in which it is customary to operate only during a regularly recurring seasonal period or periods of 26 weeks or less per year

Vernetti says thus far the bill has received strong support both from the business community — business owners and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce — as well as lawmakers. "They are excited for this bill and I feel like I will have a lot of support and co-sponsors," he said of his fellow legislators. "This will not be the only piece of legislation filed this year that tries to roll back this increase and new harsh mandates."

To the objection that the bill would benefit wealthy business owners while harming low-wage workers, Vernetti responded, "Its just not true. A number of businesses are and have been paying far above the minimum wage standard throughout the state. That won't change – because the market is demanding that level of financial commitment."

However, he says, the bill could make a real difference for small business owners who can't afford sudden wage-cost increases. "Over 80% of the registered businesses in this state have 9 or fewer employees," he said. "People are struggling – with the rise in costs, potential tariffs on the horizon, and the struggle to find good employees as it is – we shouldn’t be making it more difficult on small business owners, we should be helping them. Businesses will still have to pay strong wages to compete for strong employees, my bill won’t change that."

Full Bill Text

290.800. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Entrepreneur Rights Act".

2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:

(1) "Seasonal business", an employer whose operations and business are substantially all in an industry in which it is customary to operate, because of climatic conditions or because of the seasonal nature of such industry, only during a regularly recurring seasonal period or periods of twenty-six weeks or less in a calendar year, as determined by the department;

(2) "Small business", any small business, including any sole proprietorship, partnership, S corporation, C corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or other business entity, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, employs fifty or fewer full- or part-time employees, has a place of business in and is headquartered in the state of Missouri, and employs at least eighty percent of its employees in Missouri.

3. Except where otherwise required by federal law, beginning on and after the effective date of this section, the provisions of sections 290.600 to 290.642 and any increase in the minimum wage under section 290.502 beginning on or after January 1, 2025, shall not apply to any employee or employer that is a small business or a seasonal business of any size.

4. The minimum wage rate in effect on December 31, 2024, shall be the applicable rate for small businesses and seasonal businesses, notwithstanding any other exemptions, lower wage rates, prevailing wage rates, or other exceptions or preemptions of the state minimum wage law that are allowed under this chapter, general law, or federal law.

5. Small businesses and seasonal businesses exempt under this section shall still be subject to the remaining applicable provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530 as applied to the minimum wage rate in effect on December 31, 2024.

6. The exemption provided under this section shall apply only to employment compensation paid or accrued on or after the effective date of this section and shall not be retroactive in effect.

7. The department may promulgate all necessary rules and regulations for the administration of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2025, shall be invalid and void.