--- title: "Missouri Wage, Overtime & Meal Break Law 2026" description: "Missouri's minimum wage is $15 in 2026 under Prop A. Overtime is 1.5x after 40 hours a week, no daily premium, and no state meal break. Employer guide." canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/united-states/missouri/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law --- United States · Missouri · Wage & hour child Served by Teamed US Inc., Delaware · Payroll via SUNA Solutions # How do *Missouri wage, overtime and meal break laws* work in 2026? Missouri's minimum wage jumped to $15 an hour in 2026 under Proposition A. Overtime is 1.5 times pay after 40 hours a week with no daily premium, and the state mandates no meal or rest break at all. Last reviewed 6 June 2026 · Missouri, United States guide ![St. Louis, Missouri at golden hour: the Gateway Arch towering over the Mississippi riverfront, warehouse and brewery workers loading a dock in the foreground and the downtown skyline lit behind.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/united-states/missouri/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law/images/hero.webp) Illustration · St. Louis, Missouri Missouri made one big move on pay and left everything else to the federal book. The minimum wage stepped up to **$15** an hour for 2026, the last scheduled rise under [Proposition A](https://labor.mo.gov/dls/wages), with a tipped cash floor of **$7.50** an hour topped up to the full rate. Overtime is the plain federal rule: **1.5 times pay after 40 hours** a week, no daily premium. The catch is what is not there. [HB 567](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=290.502) stripped out the annual inflation rise that Proposition A had set for 2027, so $15 no longer climbs by default. And Missouri mandates **no meal break and no rest break** for adults, so the scheduling risk is the opposite of a break-heavy state: there is nothing to track, which is its own kind of trap. ## What is Missouri's minimum wage in 2026? Missouri's minimum wage is **$15 an hour** in 2026, the final scheduled step under Proposition A, the measure voters approved in November 2024. It is a single statewide rate. Tipped staff get a cash wage of **$7.50 an hour**, exactly half the minimum, and you top up the difference if tips do not carry total pay to $15. The rate climbed in steps under [Proposition A](https://labor.mo.gov/dls/wages), and $15 is where it lands for 2026. Missouri bars cities and counties from setting a higher local minimum under [RSMo 290.502](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=290.502), so the same $15 applies in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and rural counties alike. There is no local wage map to track. Compare that to neighbouring Illinois, where [Illinois minimum wage rules](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/illinois/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law) escalate annually with a shifting local patchwork. What changed is the path forward. Proposition A had built in an automatic annual adjustment to the cost of living from 2027, but [HB 567, signed in 2025](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=290.502), repealed that indexing. So $15 holds as a fixed figure rather than a number that rises each January, which makes multi-year budgeting cleaner but means the floor no longer keeps pace with inflation on its own. If you are comparing Missouri to other flat-rate states, the [United States employer guide](/country-hiring-guides/united-states) shows the full state-by-state picture. ## How does overtime work in Missouri? Missouri pays overtime at **1.5 times** the regular rate after **40 hours in a workweek**, the same as federal law. The state follows the 40-hour week and adds nothing on top. There is **no daily overtime in Missouri**. A worker can do a twelve-hour shift with no premium, as long as the week stays at or under 40 hours. Only hours past 40 in the seven-day week count. Missouri Dept of Labor & Industrial Relations · RSMo 290.505 Hire a forty-one-hour worker in Kansas City and you owe 1.5 times their regular rate for that one hour over the line. Missouri's weekly threshold is 40 hours, and that is the only trigger: no daily overtime, no seventh-day premium. The state statute tracks the [federal Fair Labor Standards Act](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa) and adopts its exemptions in full. Source: [Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, wage and hour](https://labor.mo.gov/dls/general) This puts Missouri alongside Texas and [Kansas](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/kansas/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law) rather than California or Nevada, which add daily overtime after eight hours. A four-day, ten-hour roster in Missouri carries no premium, because the week lands at exactly 40 hours. The figure that bites is the regular rate: it has to fold in non-discretionary bonuses and commissions under the [US DOL Wage & Hour Division overtime rules](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/overtime), so overtime is calculated on total earnings, not base pay alone. Get the regular rate wrong and every overtime hour is underpaid. Run the [Employer Cost Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost) to see what overtime exposure looks like in your Missouri headcount. ## Does Missouri require meal or rest breaks? No. Missouri law requires **no meal break and no rest break** for adult employees. The Department of Labor states plainly that employers need not provide a break of any kind, including a lunch hour. Any break you do offer is a matter of company policy or contract, not statute. The one federal rule still applies: a short break of twenty minutes or less, if you give one, counts as paid time worked. The trap here is the reverse of a break-heavy state. There is no thirty-minute meal rule to schedule and no paid rest break to track, so the compliance surface looks empty. The risk moves to the regular rate and the overtime count instead, because a worker who skips lunch and works straight through is simply accruing hours toward the 40-hour overtime line. Missouri's own [Department of Labor and Industrial Relations](https://labor.mo.gov/dls/general) confirms the absence of any statutory break requirement for adults. If you run an unpaid meal break as policy, it is unpaid only when the employee is fully relieved of duty. The [US DOL Wage & Hour Division's hours-worked guidance](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/22-flsa-hours-worked) is clear: a working lunch at a desk or station is paid time and folds into the 40-hour count. So even with no statutory break, the discipline is to record meal time honestly, because that is what decides whether a long day tips into overtime. For how Missouri's break rules compare to a state that mandates them, see the [Iowa wage and overtime guide](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/iowa/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law). For what accrued leave looks like on top of this, see [Missouri paid family and sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/missouri/paid-family-and-sick-leave). ## Who is exempt, and how does federal law apply? An employee is exempt from overtime only if they are paid at least **$684 a week** (**$35,568 a year**) on a salary basis and meet the federal duties test for an executive, administrative or professional role. Salary alone is not enough. A worker earning over $684 a week who does not meet the duties test is still non-exempt and owed overtime after 40 hours. The $684 weekly threshold is the 2019 federal level, the figure in force for 2026 after the 2024 increase was struck down by a federal court and formally rescinded by the [US Department of Labor's overtime rulemaking page](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/overtime/rulemaking). So the in-force number is $684 a week, or $35,568 a year, not the higher figure some payroll tables still show. Missouri sets no separate state exemption salary; its overtime statute at [RSMo 290.505](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=290.505) adopts the federal exemptions, so the federal level governs. Misclassifying a salaried worker as exempt is the expensive error: if the salary or duties test is not met, every over-40-hour week becomes back-pay, and Missouri wage claims can carry liquidated damages on top. With the minimum wage now at $15, the gap between an hourly hire and the $684 exemption bar is wide, so test the duties, not just the salary, before you classify anyone as exempt. For termination exposure that can flow from misclassification, see [Missouri termination law and at-will exceptions](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/missouri/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions). The [Missouri state tax and unemployment insurance guide](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/missouri/state-income-tax-and-unemployment-insurance) covers what payroll tax you file on those wages. ## How Teamed runs Missouri wage and hour compliance Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in Missouri for [**from $599 per employee per month flat**](/pricing). **Zero FX mark-up**. We run the timesheet-to-payslip path so the $15 floor, overtime and the tip top-up are calculated correctly, every cycle. You set the schedule. Teamed applies the 1.5x rate after 40 hours, tops up tipped staff from the $7.50 cash floor, and tests every salaried hire against the $684 exemption bar before it becomes back-pay. Everything runs on **one platform**. **Real HR and legal experts** handle your Missouri hires and know the $15 minimum, the $7.50 tipped floor and the exemption bar under [RSMo 290.505](https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=290.505) inside out. **An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue.** Overtime, premium pay and any tip make-up are computed and **pass through at cost, itemised** on every invoice. **No setup fee, no exit fee.** Contractor onboarding, [EOR payroll](/lp/employer-of-record) and entity graduation all live on **one platform**: a Missouri contractor who converts to W-2 keeps their record, and that same employee can **graduate** to your own US entity when the model no longer fits, without switching systems. Use the [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator) to see the month the model flips, or the [Employer Cost Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost) to price a Missouri hire before you sign. EOR is the right call for a first Missouri hire, **until it isn't**. Teamed Client Operations The Missouri surprise is the absence of a break rule. Employers used to other states build a thirty-minute meal break into the rota and assume it is required here too. Missouri mandates no break at all, so the lunch is policy, not law. That sounds easier, but it moves the risk onto the regular rate and the overtime count. We track meal time honestly from day one, because in Missouri that is the line a wage claim is actually built on, not the break itself. A note from Tom Price-Daniel Missouri made one move on pay and left the rest to the federal book. The minimum wage rose to $15 under Proposition A, overtime is 1.5 times pay after 40 hours, and there is no state meal break to schedule. The empty break rule is the quiet risk, and tracking the hours behind it is the part we run for you. Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed ## Frequently asked questions What is Missouri's minimum wage in 2026? Missouri's minimum wage is $15 per hour in 2026, the final scheduled step under Proposition A, approved by voters in November 2024. It is a single statewide rate, and cities cannot set a higher local minimum. Tipped staff get a cash wage of $7.50 an hour, topped up where tips fall short of $15. Does Missouri have daily overtime? No. Missouri has no daily-overtime rule. It follows the federal FLSA, paying overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate only after 40 hours in a seven-day workweek. A long single shift carries no premium as long as the week stays at or under 40 hours. Does Missouri require a meal or rest break? No. Missouri law does not require employers to provide adult employees a break of any kind, including a lunch hour. Any break is a matter of company policy or contract. The federal rule still applies that a short break of twenty minutes or less, if offered, is paid time worked. What is the federal exempt salary threshold for Missouri in 2026? The in-force federal white-collar exemption threshold is $684 a week, or $35,568 a year, on a salary basis, plus the duties test. The 2024 increase was vacated by a federal court and rescinded, so the 2019 level applies. Missouri sets no separate state exemption salary. ## Related United States guides - [Missouri paid family and sick leave](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/missouri/paid-family-and-sick-leave)sibling - [Missouri termination law and at-will exceptions](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/missouri/termination-law-and-at-will-exceptions)sibling - [Missouri state tax and unemployment insurance](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/missouri/state-income-tax-and-unemployment-insurance)sibling - [Hiring in the United States, overview](/country-hiring-guides/united-states)country parent - [Kansas wage and overtime law](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/kansas/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law)neighbour - [Illinois wage and overtime law](/country-hiring-guides/united-states/illinois/wage-overtime-and-meal-break-law)neighbour - [Employer of Record overview](/lp/employer-of-record)core - [Pricing, Zero FX Fixed](/pricing)core - [EOR vs Entity Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator)tool - [Employer Cost Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost)tool - [Talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact)CTA A note on this page. This is a guide, not legal advice. Missouri's minimum wage and tipped cash wage sit in RSMo 290.502 under Proposition A, the 1.5x overtime rule after 40 hours in a workweek sits in RSMo 290.505, and HB 567 (2025) removed the annual inflation adjustment. Missouri requires no statutory meal or rest break for adults. The federal exempt salary threshold sits with the US Department of Labor and can change when a rule is finalised or a court rules. Confirm specific figures with the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, the US Department of Labor or your Teamed US specialist before relying on any number here.