For some Missouri business owners, their annual gross income may lead to a minimum wage exemption.
Effective Jan. 1, 2019, the state’s minimum wage increased to $8.60 an hour and will continue to increase by 85 cents a year until minimum wage reaches $12 an hour in 2023. But due to a Missouri statute, some business may be exempt from the wage hike, reports KTVO.com.
According to Missouri’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, “employers engaged in retail or service businesses whose annual gross income is less than $500,000 are not required to pay the state minimum wage rate.”
“I would hate to see us lose a lot of small business because they couldn’t keep up with the increase,” said Sandra Williams, Executive Director of the Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce. “… 85 cent increases for an employee per hour … doesn’t sound like much, but if you have five or six employees over a year’s time, it adds up…”
For more information on whether your business is exempt from the wage law, contact the United States Department of Labor.
