290.010. From and after the first day of May, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the period of eight hours shall be and constitute a legal day's work; but nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prevent parties to any contract for work, services or labor from agreeing upon a longer or shorter time. This section shall not apply to persons hired or employed by the month, nor to laborers or farm hands in the service of farmers or others engaged in agriculture.
(RSMo 1939 § 10166)Prior revisions: 1929 § 13205; 1919 § 6766; 1909 § 7812
CROSS REFERENCE:
Election, employees allowed three hours to vote, RSMo 115.639
(1971) This section does not impose an obligation on employers to pay overtime compensation for work in excess of eight hours a day. Blinston v. Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co. (CA Mo.) 441 F.2d 1365.
290.020. It is hereby declared to be unlawful for any person, company or corporation engaged in carrying on any kind of mining, mechanical, chemical manufacturing or smelting business, to work their employees in any mill or mills, or plants, while engaged in crushing rocks and mine products, containing mineral or ores, or engaged in separating the minerals or ores from rock and such combination with which the mineral or ores are mixed, or reducing or roasting, or refining or smelting minerals or ores, from and after the time such rocks, or combination of rocks and mine products, or minerals or ores are taken out of the mines, at such labor or industry, for a period of time longer than eight hours in a day of twenty-four hours, without their consent, and it is hereby declared that eight hours shall constitute a day of employment, for all laborers, or employees, engaged in the kind of labor or industry aforesaid.
(RSMo 1939 § 10167, A.L. 1981 H.B. 748)Prior revisions: 1929 § 13206; 1919 § 6767; 1909 § 7813
290.030. Any person or persons, company or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of section 290.020 shall, on conviction, be fined in a sum not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
(RSMo 1939 § 10168)Prior revisions: 1929 § 13207; 1919 § 6768; 1909 § 7814
290.080. All corporations doing business in this state, and all persons operating railroads or railroad shops in this state, shall pay the wages and salaries of their employees as often as semimonthly, within sixteen days of the close of each payroll period; provided, however, that executive, administrative and professional employees, and sales people and other employees compensated in whole or in part on a commission basis, at the option of such employers, may be paid their salaries or commissions monthly. Such corporations and persons either as a part of the check, draft or other voucher paying the wages or separately, shall furnish the employee at least once a month a statement showing the total amount of deductions for the period. Any corporation or person violating this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not less than fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, for each offense.
(RSMo 1939 §§ 5080, 5081, 10176, A. 1949 S.B. 1105, A.L. 1955 p. 596)Prior revisions: 1929 §§ 4608, 4609, 13215; 1919 §§ 9802, 9803, 6778; 1909 § 7820
CROSS REFERENCE:
Wages, when to be paid, interest, priority, RSMo 430.360
290.090. The employees of the operators of all manufactories, including plate glass manufactories, operated within this state shall be regularly paid in full of all wages due them at least once in every fifteen days, in lawful money, and at no pay day shall there be withheld from the earnings of any employee any sum to exceed the amount due him for his labor for five days next preceding any such pay day. Any such operator who fails and refuses to pay his employees, their agents, assigns or anyone duly authorized to collect such wages, as in this section provided, shall become immediately liable to any such employee, his agents or assigns for an amount double the sum due such employee at the time of such failure to pay the wages due, to be recovered by civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction within this state, and no employee, within the meaning of this section, shall be deemed to have waived any right accruing to him under this section by any contract he may make contrary to the provisions hereof.
(RSMo 1939 § 10175)Prior revisions: 1929 § 13214; 1919 § 6775; 1909 § 7817
290.095. 1. No contractor or subcontractor may directly or indirectly receive a wage subsidy, bid supplement, or rebate for employment on a public works project if such wage subsidy, bid supplement, or rebate has the effect of reducing the wage rate paid by the employer on a given occupational title below the prevailing wage rate as provided in section 290.262.
2. In the event a wage subsidy, bid supplement, or rebate is lawfully provided or received under subsections 1 or 2 of this section, the entity receiving such subsidy, supplement, or rebate shall report the date and amount of such subsidy, supplement, or rebate to the public body within thirty days of receipt of payment. This disclosure report shall be a matter of public record under chapter 610, RSMo.
3. Any employer in violation of this section shall owe to the public body double the dollar amount per hour that the wage subsidy, bid supplement, or rebate has reduced the wage rate paid by the employer below the prevailing wage rate as provided in section 290.262 for each hour that work was performed. It shall be the duty of the department to calculate the dollar amount owed to the public body under this section.
(L. 2007 S.B. 339)
290.100. Any railway, mining, express, telegraph, manufacturing or other company or corporation doing business in this state, and desiring to reduce the wages of its employees, or any of them, shall give to the employees to be affected thereby thirty days' notice thereof. Such notice may be given by posting a written or printed handbill, specifying the class of employees whose wages are to be reduced and the amount of the reduction, in a conspicuous place in or about the shops, station, office, depot or other place where said employees may be at work, or by mailing each employee a copy of said notice or handbill, and such company or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section shall forfeit and pay each party affected thereby the sum of fifty dollars, to be recovered by civil action in the name of the injured party, with costs, before any court of competent jurisdiction.
(RSMo 1939 §§ 5066, 5067, A.L. 1943 p. 410 § 75)Prior revisions: 1929 §§ 4590, 4591; 1919 §§ 9782, 9783; 1909 §§ 3022, 3023
290.110. Whenever any person, firm or corporation doing business in this state shall discharge, with or without cause, or refuse to further employ any servant or employee thereof, the unpaid wages of the servant or employee then earned at the contract rate, without abatement or deduction, shall be and become due and payable on the day of the discharge or refusal to longer employ and the servant or employee may request in writing of his foreman or the keeper of his time to have the money due him, or a valid check therefor, sent to any station or office where a regular agent is kept; and if the money or a valid check therefor, does not reach the station or office within seven days from the date it is so requested, then as a penalty for such nonpayment the wages of the servant or employee shall continue from the date of the discharge or refusal to further employ, at the same rate until paid; provided, such wages shall not continue more than sixty days. This section shall not apply in the case of an employee whose remuneration for work is based primarily on commissions and whose duties include collection of accounts, care of a stock or merchandise and similar activities and where an audit is necessary or customary in order to determine the net amount due.
(RSMo 1939 § 5082, A.L. 1943 p. 410 § 76, A.L. 1963 p. 414, A.L. 1972 H.B. 1203)Prior revisions: 1929 § 4610; 1919 § 9804
290.120. No such servant or employee who secretes or absents himself to avoid payment to him, or refuses to receive the same when fully tendered, shall be entitled to any benefit under sections 290.110 and 290.120 for such time as he so avoids payment.
(RSMo 1939 § 5083, A.L. 1943 p. 410 § 77)Prior revisions: 1929 § 4611; 1919 § 9805
290.130. Any such servant or employee whose employment is for a definite period of time, and who is discharged without cause before the expiration of such time, may, in addition to the penalty prescribed by this law, have an action against any such employer for any damages he may have sustained by reason of such wrongful discharge, and such action may be joined with an action for unpaid wages and penalty.
(RSMo 1939 § 5084, A.L. 1943 p. 410 § 78)Prior revisions: 1929 § 4612; 1919 § 9806
290.140. 1. Whenever any employee of any corporation doing business in this state and which employs seven or more employees, who shall have been in the service of said corporation for a period of at least ninety days, shall be discharged or voluntarily quit the service of such corporation and who thereafter within a reasonable period of time, but not later than one year following the date the employee was discharged or voluntarily quit, requests in writing by certified mail to the superintendent, manager or registered agent of said corporation, with specific reference to the statute, it shall be the duty of the superintendent or manager of said corporation to issue to such employee, within forty-five days after the receipt of such request, a letter, duly signed by such superintendent or manager, setting forth the nature and character of service rendered by such employee to such corporation and the duration thereof, and truly stating for what cause, if any, such employee was discharged or voluntarily quit such service.
2. Any corporation which violates the provisions of subsection 1 of this section shall be liable for compensatory but not punitive damages but in the event that the evidence establishes that the employer did not issue the requested letter, said employer may be liable for nominal and punitive damages; but no award of punitive damages under this section shall be based upon the content of any such letter.
(RSMo 1939 § 5064, A.L. 1941 p. 330, A.L. 1982 S.B. 747)Prior revisions: 1929 § 4588; 1919 § 9780; 1909 § 3020
CROSS REFERENCE:
Employee dismissal rights, damage action, time limitation, RSMo 516.140
(1985) Actual damages in a "service letter" case are proven by showing that the plaintiff was refused employment or hindered in obtaining employment, due to the absence or inadequacy of a service letter, that the position plaintiff was refused or hindered in obtaining was actually open, and the rate of pay of that position. Gibson v. Hummel (Mo. App. E.D.), 688 S.W.2d 4.
(1985) An award of punitive damages based on the failure to provide a service letter is improper except upon a showing of actual or legal malice. Comerio v. Beatrice Foods Co., 616 F.Supp. 1423 (D.C.Mo.).
(1986) An employer which fails to issue the service letter within forty-five days of it being requested may be liable for punitive damages. Talbert v. Safeway Stores, Inc. 651 F.Supp. 1563 (W.D. Mo.).
(1986) A statement that termination is due to "unsatisfactory work performance" is insufficient as a matter of law under this section. Gloria v. University of Health Sciences, 713 S.W.2d 32 (Mo. App. W.D.).
(1987) Legal malice must be proven in order to recover punitive damages pursuant to this section and such malice must be averred generally in the petition. Willett v. Slay Warehouse Co., Inc., 735 S.W.2d 60 (Mo. App. E.D.).
(1987) Legal malice or the deliberate failure to provide a service letter knowing that an individual has requested one perhaps may be shown in order to recover punitive damages by proving that this section was cited in the request for a service letter. Fink v. Revco Discount Drug Centers, Inc., 666 F.Supp. 1325 (W.D. Mo.).
(1990) Letter requesting statement of reasons for employee's discharge signed only by the employee's attorney and not by the employee is not a valid request for a service letter. Zeman v. V.F. Factory Outlet, Inc., 911 F.2d 107 (8th Cir.).
(1990) Discharged employee not entitled to actual damages for an employer's violation of service letter statute for false statements unless employee can show evidence that prospective employer saw letter and held it against employee. Employee could seek nominal damages. Prewitt v. Factory Motor Parts, Inc., 747 F.Supp. 560 (W.D. Mo.).
290.145. It shall be an improper employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, any individual, or to otherwise disadvantage any individual, with respect to compensation, terms or conditions of employment because the individual uses lawful alcohol or tobacco products off the premises of the employer during hours such individual is not working for the employer, unless such use interferes with the duties and performance of the employee, the employee's coworkers, or the overall operation of the employer's business; except that, nothing in this section shall prohibit an employer from providing or contracting for health insurance benefits at a reduced premium rate or at a reduced deductible level for employees who do not smoke or use tobacco products. Religious organizations and church-operated institutions, and not-for-profit organizations whose principal business is health care promotion shall be exempt from the provisions of this section. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to create a cause of action for injunctive relief, damages or other relief.
(L. 1992 S.B. 509, et al. § 6, A.L. 2005 H.B. 596, A.L. 2006 S.B. 567 & 792)
290.152. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Employer", any individual, organization, partnership, political subdivision, corporation or other legal entity which has or had in the entity's employ one or more individuals performing services for the entity within this state;
(2) "Prospective employer", any employer, as defined in this subsection, to which an individual has made application for employment, either oral or written, or forwarded a resume or other correspondence expressing an interest in employment.
2. An employer may:
(1) Respond in writing to a written request concerning a current or former employee from an entity or person which the employer reasonably believes to be a prospective employer of such employee; and
(2) Disclose the nature and character of service rendered by such employee to such employer and the duration thereof; and
(3) Truly state for what cause, if any, such employee was discharged or voluntarily quit such service.
The provisions of this section shall apply regardless of whether the employee becomes employed by the prospective employer prior to receipt of the former employer's written response. The information provided pursuant to this section shall be consistent with the content of any service letter provided pursuant to section 290.140 for the same employee.
3. The employer shall send a copy of any letter provided pursuant to subsection 2 of this section to the current employee or former employee at the employee's last known address. The current or former employee may request from the employer a copy of the letter provided pursuant to subsection 2 of this section for up to one year following the date of such letter.
4. For purposes of this section, an employer shall be immune from civil liability for any response made pursuant to this section or for any consequences of such response, unless such response was false and made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard for whether such response was true or false.
5. Any employer who violates the provisions of subsection 2 of this section shall be liable for compensatory damages but not punitive damages.
6. Any letter issued pursuant to this section shall not be admitted as evidence in an unemployment compensation claim.
(L. 1999 S.B. 32)
290.210. As used in sections 290.210 to 290.340, unless the context indicates otherwise:
(1) "Construction" includes construction, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement, alteration, painting and decorating, or major repair.
(2) "Department" means the department of labor and industrial relations.
(3) "Locality" means the county where the physical work upon public works is performed, except that if there is not available in the county a sufficient number of competent skilled workmen to construct the public works efficiently and properly, "locality" may include two or more counties adjacent to the one in which the work or construction is to be performed and from which such workers may be obtained in sufficient numbers to perform the work, and that, with respect to contracts with the state highways and transportation commission, "locality" may be construed to include two or more adjacent counties from which workmen may be accessible for work on such construction.
(4) "Maintenance work" means the repair, but not the replacement, of existing facilities when the size, type or extent of the existing facilities is not thereby changed or increased.
(5) "Prevailing hourly rate of wages" means the wages paid generally, in the locality in which the public works is being performed, to workmen engaged in work of a similar character including the basic hourly rate of pay and the amount of the rate of contributions irrevocably made by a contractor or subcontractor to a trustee or to a third person pursuant to a fund, plan or program, and the amount of the rate of costs to the contractor or subcontractor which may be reasonably anticipated in providing benefits to workmen and mechanics pursuant to an enforceable commitment to carry out a financially responsible plan or program which was communicated in writing to the workmen affected, for medical or hospital care, pensions on retirement or death, compensation for injuries or illness resulting from occupational activity, or insurance to provide any of the foregoing, for unemployment benefits, life insurance, disability and sickness insurance, accident insurance, for vacation and holiday pay, for defraying costs of apprenticeship or other similar programs, or for other bona fide fringe benefits, but only where the contractor or subcontractor is not required by other federal or state law to provide any of the benefits; provided, that the obligation of a contractor or subcontractor to make payment in accordance with the prevailing wage determinations of the department, insofar as sections 290.210 to 290.340 are concerned, may be discharged by the making of payments in cash, by the making of irrevocable contributions to trustees or third persons as provided herein, by the assumption of an enforceable commitment to bear the costs of a plan or program as provided herein, or any combination thereof, where the aggregate of such payments, contributions and costs is not less than the rate of pay plus the other amounts as provided herein.
(6) "Public body" means the state of Missouri or any officer, official, authority, board or commission of the state, or other political subdivision thereof, or any institution supported in whole or in part by public funds.
(7) "Public works" means all fixed works constructed for public use or benefit or paid for wholly or in part out of public funds. It also includes any work done directly by any public utility company when performed by it pursuant to the order of the public service commission or other public authority whether or not it be done under public supervision or direction or paid for wholly or in part out of public funds when let to contract by said utility. It does not include any work done for or by any drainage or levee district.
(8) "Workmen" means laborers, workmen and mechanics.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 1, A.L. 1965 p. 438, A.L. 1969 S.B. 142)(1981) Industrial development projects are not subject to the Prevailing Wage Act unless the projects constitute "public works" and involve workmen employed by or on behalf of a public body engaged in public works. State ex rel. Ashcroft v. City of Sedalia (Mo. App. W.D.), 629 S.W.2d 578.
(1993) Statute of limitations period for claims for failure to pay prevailing wage for public works governed by section 516.110, RSMo, for actions based on writing and not governed by statute of limitations for unpaid minimum wages in section 516.140, RSMo. City of Kansas City v. Integon Indemnity Corp., 857 S.W.2d 233 (Mo. App. W.D.).
290.220. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state of Missouri that a wage of no less than the prevailing hourly rate of wages for work of a similar character in the locality in which the work is performed shall be paid to all workmen employed by or on behalf of any public body engaged in public works exclusive of maintenance work.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 2)(1959) Prevailing Wage Act sustained as against attacks claiming it (1) constituted arbitrary classification; (2) unconstitutionally delegated legislative power without standards; (3) is special legislation; and (4) was violative of a city charter adopted under § 19, Art. VI of the constitution. City of Joplin v. Indust. Comm. (Mo.), 329 S.W.2d 687.
(1981) Industrial development projects are not subject to the Prevailing Wage Act unless the projects constitute "public works" and involve workmen employed by or on behalf of a public body engaged in public works. State ex rel. Ashcroft v. City of Sedalia (Mo. App. W.D.), 629 S.W.2d 578.
290.230. 1. Not less than the prevailing hourly rate of wages for work of a similar character in the locality in which the work is performed, and not less than the prevailing hourly rate of wages for legal holiday and overtime work, shall be paid to all workmen employed by or on behalf of any public body engaged in the construction of public works, exclusive of maintenance work. Only such workmen as are directly employed by contractors or subcontractors in actual construction work on the site of the building or construction job shall be deemed to be employed upon public works.
2. When the hauling of materials or equipment includes some phase of construction other than the mere transportation to the site of the construction, workmen engaged in this dual capacity shall be deemed employed directly on public works.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 3)
290.240. 1. The department shall inquire diligently as to any violation of sections 290.210 to 290.340, shall institute actions for penalties herein prescribed, and shall enforce generally the provisions of sections 290.210 to 290.340.
2. The department may establish rules and regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections 290.210 to 290.340.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 6, A.L. 1969 S.B. 142)(1997) Department is not authorized by statute to sue for back wages on behalf of workers. Department of Labor and Industrial Relations v. SKC Electric, Inc., 936 S.W.2d 802 (Mo.banc).
290.250. 1. Every public body authorized to contract for or construct public works before advertising for bids or undertaking such construction shall request the department to determine the prevailing rates of wages for workmen for the class or type of work called for by the public works, in the locality where the work is to be performed. The department shall determine the prevailing hourly rate of wages in the locality in which the work is to be performed for each type of workman required to execute the contemplated contract and such determination or schedule of the prevailing hourly rate of wages shall be attached to and made a part of the specifications for the work. The public body shall then specify in the resolution or ordinance and in the call for bids for the contract what is the prevailing hourly rate of wages in the locality for each type of workman needed to execute the contract and also the general prevailing rate for legal holiday and overtime work. It shall be mandatory upon the contractor to whom the contract is awarded and upon any subcontractor under him to pay not less than the specified rates to all workmen employed by them in the execution of the contract. The public body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in the contract a stipulation to the effect that not less than the prevailing hourly rate of wages shall be paid to all workmen performing work under the contract. The employer shall forfeit as a penalty to the state, county, city and county, city, town, district or other political subdivision on whose behalf the contract is made or awarded one hundred dollars for each workman employed, for each calendar day, or portion thereof, such workman is paid less than the said stipulated rates for any work done under said contract, by him or by any subcontractor under him, and the said public body awarding the contract shall cause to be inserted in the contract a stipulation to this effect. It shall be the duty of such public body awarding the contract, and its agents and officers, to take cognizance of all complaints of all violations of the provisions of sections 290.210 to 290.340 committed in the course of the execution of the contract, and, when making payments to the contractor becoming due under said contract, to withhold and retain therefrom all sums and amounts due and owing as a result of any violation of sections 290.210 to 290.340. It shall be lawful for any contractor to withhold from any subcontractor under him sufficient sums to cover any penalties withheld from him by the awarding body on account of said subcontractor's failure to comply with the terms of sections 290.210 to 290.340, and if payment has already been made to him, the contractor may recover from him the amount of the penalty in a suit at law.
2. In determining whether a violation of sections 290.210 to 290.340 has occurred, and whether the penalty under subsection 1 of this section shall be imposed, it shall be the duty of the department to investigate any claim of violation. Upon completing such investigation, the department shall notify the employer of its findings. If the department concludes that a violation of sections 290.210 to 290.340 has occurred and a penalty may be due, the department shall notify the employer of such finding by providing a notice of penalty to the employer. Such penalty shall not be due until forty-five days after the date of the notice of the penalty.
3. The employer shall have the right to dispute such notice of penalty in writing to the department within forty-five days of the date of the notice. Upon receipt of this written notice of dispute, the department shall notify the employer of the right to resolve such dispute through arbitration. The state and the employer shall submit to an arbitration process to be established by the department by rule, and in conformance with the guidelines and rules of the American Arbitration Association or other arbitration process mutually agreed upon by the employer and the state. If at any time prior to the department pursuing an enforcement action to enforce the monetary penalty provisions of subsection 1 of this section against the employer, the employer pays the back wages as determined by either the department or the arbitrator, the department shall be precluded from initiating any enforcement action to impose the monetary penalty provisions of subsection 1 of this section.
4. If the employer fails to pay all wages due as determined by the arbitrator within forty-five days following the conclusion of the arbitration process, or if the employer fails to exercise the right to seek arbitration, the department may then pursue an enforcement action to enforce the monetary penalty provisions of subsection 1 of this section against the employer. If the court orders payment of the penalties as prescribed in subsection 1 of this section, the department shall be entitled to recover its actual cost of enforcement from such penalty amount.
5. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as precluding an action for enforcement filed by an aggrieved employee as otherwise provided in law.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 4, A.L. 1969 S.B. 142, A.L. 2007 S.B. 339)
290.260. 1. The department, as it deems necessary, shall from time to time investigate and determine the prevailing hourly rate of wages in the localities. A determination applicable to every locality to be contained in a general wage order shall be made annually on or before July first of each year for the Missouri state highways and transportation commission and shall remain in effect until superseded by a new general wage order. In determining prevailing rates, the department shall ascertain and consider the applicable wage rates established by collective bargaining agreements, if any, and the rates that are paid generally within the locality.
2. A certified copy of the determination so made shall be filed immediately with the secretary of state and with the department in Jefferson City. Copies shall be supplied by the department to all persons requesting them within ten days after the filing.
3. At any time within thirty days after the certified copies of the determinations have been filed with the secretary of state and the department, any person who is affected thereby may object in writing to the determination or the part thereof that he deems objectionable by filing a written notice with the department, stating the specific grounds of the objection.
4. Within thirty days of the receipt of the objection, the department shall set a date for a hearing on the objection. The date for the hearing shall be within sixty days of the receipt of the objection. Written notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given to the objectors at least ten days prior to the date set for the hearing.
5. The department at its discretion may hear each written objection separately or consolidate for hearing any two or more written objections. At the hearing the department shall first introduce in evidence the investigation it instituted and the other facts which were considered at the time of the original determination which formed the basis for its determination. The department, or the objector, or any interested party, thereafter may introduce any evidence that is material to the issues.
6. Within twenty days of the conclusion of the hearing, the department must rule on the written objection and make the final determination that it believes the evidence warrants. Immediately, the department shall file a certified copy of its final determination with the secretary of state and with the department and shall serve a copy of the final determination on all parties to the proceedings by personal service or by registered mail.
7. This final decision of the department of the prevailing wages in the locality is subject to review in accordance with the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo. Any person affected, whether or not the person participated in the proceedings resulting in the final determination, may have the decision of the department reviewed. The filing of the final determination with the secretary of state shall be considered a service of the final determination on persons not participating in the administrative proceedings resulting in the final determination.
8. At any time before trial any person affected by the final determination of the department may intervene in the proceedings to review under chapter 536, RSMo, and be made a party to the proceedings.
9. All proceedings in any court affecting a determination of the department under the provisions of sections 290.210 to 290.340 shall have priority in hearing and determination over all other civil proceedings pending in the court, except election contests.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 8, A.L. 1965 p. 95, A.L. 1969 S.B. 142)(1962) The function of the court in reviewing decision of industrial commission fixing hourly wage rate is to decide if the determination was authorized by law and supported by competent and substantial evidence upon the whole record. United Bro. of Carpenters, etc. v. Industrial Commission (A.), 363 S.W.2d 82.
290.262. 1. Except as otherwise provided in section 290.260, the department shall annually investigate and determine the prevailing hourly rate of wages in each locality for each separate occupational title. A final determination applicable to every locality to be contained in an annual wage order shall be made annually on or before July first of each year and shall remain in effect until superseded by a new annual wage order or as otherwise provided in this section. In determining prevailing rates, the department shall ascertain and consider the applicable wage rates established by collective bargaining agreements, if any, and the rates that are paid generally within the locality, and shall, by March tenth of each year, make an initial determination for each occupational title within the locality.
2. A certified copy of the initial determinations so made shall be filed immediately with the secretary of state and with the department in Jefferson City. Copies shall be supplied by the department to all persons requesting them within ten days after the filing.
3. At any time within thirty days after the certified copies of the determinations have been filed with the secretary of state and the department, any person who is affected thereby may object in writing to a determination or a part thereof that he deems objectionable by filing a written notice with the department, stating the specific grounds of the objection. If no objection is filed, the determination is final after thirty days.
4. After the receipt of the objection, the department shall set a date for a hearing on the objection. The date for the hearing shall be within sixty days of the receipt of the objection. Written notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given to the objectors at least ten days prior to the date set for the hearing.
5. The department at its discretion may hear each written objection separately or consolidate for hearing any two or more written objections. At the hearing the department shall first introduce in evidence the investigation it instituted and the other facts which were considered at the time of the original determination which formed the basis for its determination. The department, or the objector, or any interested party, thereafter may introduce any evidence that is material to the issues.
6. Within twenty days of the conclusion of the hearing, the department shall rule on the written objection and make the final determination that it believes the evidence warrants. Immediately, the department shall file a certified copy of its final determination with the secretary of state and with the department and shall serve a copy of the final determination on all parties to the proceedings by personal service or by registered mail.
7. This final decision of the department of the prevailing wages in the locality for each occupational title is subject to review in accordance with the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo. Any person affected, whether or not the person participated in the proceedings resulting in the final determination, may have the decision of the department reviewed. The filing of the final determination with the secretary of state shall be considered a service of the final determination on persons not participating in the administrative proceedings resulting in the final determination.
8. At any time before trial any person affected by the final determination of the department may intervene in the proceedings to review under chapter 536, RSMo, and be made a party to the proceedings.
9. Any annual wage order made for a particular occupational title in a locality may be altered once each year, as provided in this subsection. The prevailing wage for each such occupational title may be adjusted on the anniversary date of any collective bargaining agreement which covers all persons in that particular occupational title in the locality in accordance with any annual incremental wage increases set in the collective bargaining agreement. If the prevailing wage for an occupational title is adjusted pursuant to this subsection, the employee's representative or employer in regard to such collective bargaining agreement shall notify the department of this adjustment, including the effective date of the adjustment. The adjusted prevailing wage shall be in effect until the next final annual wage order is issued pursuant to this section. The wage rates for any particular job, contracted and commenced within sixty days of the contract date, which were set as a result of the annual or revised wage order, shall remain in effect for the duration of that particular job.
10. In addition to all other reporting requirements of sections 290.210 to 290.340, each public body which is awarding a contract for a public works project shall, prior to beginning of any work on such public works project, notify the department, on a form prescribed by the department, of the scope of the work to be done, the various types of craftsmen who will be needed on the project, and the date work will commence on the project.
(L. 1993 H.B. 638)
290.263. The hourly wages to be paid as prescribed in section 290.250 to workmen upon public works shall not be less than the minimum wage specified under Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.265. A clearly legible statement of all prevailing hourly wage rates to be paid to all workmen employed in order to execute the contract and employed on the construction of the public works shall be kept posted in a prominent and easily accessible place at the site thereof by each contractor and subcontractor engaged in the public works projects under the provisions of this law and such notice shall remain posted during the full time that any such workman shall be employed on the public works.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.270. The finding of the department ascertaining and declaring the prevailing hourly rate of wages shall be final for the locality, unless reviewed under the provisions of sections 290.210 to 290.340. Nothing in sections 290.210 to 290.340, however, shall be construed to prohibit the payment to any workman employed on any public work of more than the prevailing rate of wages. Nothing in sections 290.210 to 290.340 shall be construed to limit the hours of work which may be performed by any workman in any particular period of time.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 7, A.L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.280. The authorized representative of the department may administer oaths, take or cause to be taken the depositions of witnesses, and require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of all books, records, and other evidence relative to any matter under investigation or hearing. The subpoena shall be signed and issued by the department's authorized representative. In case of failure of any person to comply with any subpoena lawfully issued under this section, or on the refusal of any witness to produce evidence or to testify to any matter regarding which he may be lawfully interrogated, the authorized representative of the department may proceed to enforce obedience to the subpoenas in the manner provided by section 536.077, RSMo, for administrative agencies. The authorized representative of the department shall have the power to certify to official acts.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 9, A.L. 1961 p. 438)
290.290. 1. The contractor and each subcontractor engaged in any construction of public works shall keep full and accurate records clearly indicating the names, occupations and crafts of every workman employed by them in connection with the public work together with an accurate record of the number of hours worked by each workman and the actual wages paid therefor. The payroll records required to be so kept shall be open to inspection by any authorized representative of the contracting public body or of the department at any reasonable time and as often as may be necessary and such records shall not be destroyed or removed from the state for the period of one year following the completion of the public work in connection with which the records are made.
2. Each contractor and subcontractor shall file with the contracting public body upon completion of the public work and prior to final payment therefor an affidavit stating that he had fully complied with the provisions and requirements of this chapter, and no public body shall be authorized to make final payment until such affidavit is filed therewith in proper form and order.
3. Each contractor and subcontractor engaged in any construction of public works shall have its name, acceptable abbreviation or recognizable logo and the name of the city and state of the mailing address of the principal office of the company, on each motor vehicle and motorized self-propelled piece of equipment which is used in connection with such public works project during the time the contractor or subcontractor is engaged on such project. The sign shall be legible from a distance of twenty feet but the size of the lettering need not be larger than two inches. In cases where equipment is leased or where affixing a legible sign to the equipment is impractical, the contractor may place a temporary stationary sign, with the information required pursuant to this subsection, at the main entrance of the construction project in place of affixing the required information on the equipment so long as such sign is not in violation of any state or federal statute, rule or regulation. Motor vehicles which are required to have similar information affixed thereto pursuant to requirements of a regulatory agency of the state or federal government are exempt from the provisions of this subsection.
4. The provisions of subsection 3 of this section shall not apply to construction of public works for which the contract awarded is in the amount of two hundred fifty thousand dollars or less.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 5, A.L. 1969 S.B. 142, A.L. 1993 H.B. 416 & 417)
290.300. Any workman employed by the contractor or by any subcontractor under the contractor who shall be paid for his services in a sum less than the stipulated rates for work done under the contract, shall have a right of action for double whatever difference there may be between the amount so paid and the rates provided by the contract together with a reasonable attorney's fee to be determined by the court, and an action brought to recover same shall be deemed to be a suit for wages, and any and all judgments entered therein shall have the same force and effect as other judgments for wages.
(L. 1957 p. 574 § 10, A.L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.305. No person, firm or corporation shall violate the wage provisions of any contract contemplated in sections 290.210 to 290.340 or suffer or require any employee to work for less than the rate of wages so fixed, or violate any of the provisions contained in sections 290.210 to 290.340. Where workmen are employed and their rate of wages has been determined as provided in sections 290.210 to 290.340, no person, either for himself or any other person, shall request, demand or receive, either before or after such workman is engaged, that such workman pay back, return, donate, contribute, or give any part or all of said workman's wages, salary, or thing of value, to any person, upon the statement, representation, or understanding that failure to comply with such request or demand will prevent such workman from procuring or retaining employment, and no person shall, directly or indirectly, pay, request or authorize any other person to violate this section. This section does not apply to any agent or representative of a duly constituted labor organization acting in the collection of dues or assessments of such organization.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.315. All contractors and subcontractors required in sections 290.210 to 290.340 to pay not less than the prevailing rate of wages shall make full payment of such wages in legal tender, without any deduction for food, sleeping accommodations, transportation, use of small tools, or any other thing of any kind or description. This section does not apply where the employer and employee enter into an agreement in writing at the beginning of said term of employment covering deductions for food, sleeping accommodations, or other similar items, provided such agreement is submitted by the employer to the public body awarding the contract and the same is approved by such public body as fair and reasonable.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.320. No public body, officer, official, member, agent or representative authorized to contract for public works shall fail, before advertising for bids or contracting for such construction, to have the department determine the prevailing rates of wages of workmen for each class of work called for by the public works in the locality where the work is to be performed as provided in sections 290.210 to 290.340.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.325. No public body, officer, official, member, agent or representative thereof authorized to contract for public works shall award a contract for the construction of such improvement or disburse any funds on account of the construction of such public improvement, unless such public body has first had the department determine the prevailing rates of wages of workmen for the class of work called for by such public works in the locality where the work is to be performed and such determination has been made a part of the specifications and contract for such public works.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.330. The department after investigation, upon complaint or upon its own initiative, shall file with the secretary of state a list of the contractors and subcontractors who it finds have been prosecuted and convicted for violations of sections 290.210 to 290.340 and such contractor or subcontractor, or simulations thereof, shall be prohibited from contracting directly or indirectly with any public body for the construction of any public works or from performing any work on the same as a contractor or subcontractor for a period of one year from the date of the first conviction for such violation and for a period of three years from the date of each subsequent violation and conviction thereof. No public body shall award a contract for a public works to any contractor or subcontractor, or simulation thereof, during the time that its name appears on said list. The filing of the notice of conviction with the secretary of state shall be notice to all public bodies and their officers, officials, members, agents and representatives.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.335. If it is found that a public body, contractor or subcontractor has not complied with any of the terms of sections 290.210 to 290.340, the department shall give notice of the precise violation in writing to such public body, contractor or subcontractor. Sufficient time may be allowed for compliance therewith as the department deems necessary. After the expiration of the time prescribed in said notice, the department may in writing inform the attorney general of the fact that such notice has been given and that the public body, contractor or subcontractor or the authorized representative or agent thereof to whom it was directed has not complied with such notice. Upon receipt thereof, the attorney general shall at the earliest possible time bring suit in the name of the state in the circuit court of the county in which such public body is located or where any such contractor or subcontractor is engaged in any public works to enjoin the award of such contract for a public works, or any further work or payments thereunder if the contract has been awarded, until the requirements of such notice are fully complied with. The court may issue a temporary restraining order with due notice to the defendant in such action. The plaintiff shall in any such injunctive action post an adequate bond to be set by the circuit judge. Upon final hearing thereof, if the court is satisfied that the requirements of the notice by the department to the defendant were not unreasonable or arbitrary, it shall issue an order enjoining the awarding of such contract for a public works, or any further work or payments thereunder if the contract has been awarded, until the notice is fully complied with. Such injunction shall continue operative until the court is satisfied that the requirements of such notice have been complied with and the court shall have and exercise with respect to the enforcement of such injunctions all the power in it in other similar cases. Both the plaintiff and defendant in such action have the same rights of appeal as are provided by law in other injunction proceedings.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)
290.340. Any officer, official, member, agent or representative of any public body, contractor or subcontractor who willfully violates and omits to comply with any of the provisions and requirements of sections 290.210 to 290.340 shall be punished for each violation thereof by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day such violation or omission continues shall constitute a separate offense as contemplated by this section.
(L. 1969 S.B. 142)(1997) As used in this section, "willfully" means "knowingly". State v. Lee Mechanical Contractors, Inc., 938 S.W.2d 269 (Mo.banc).
290.350. Whenever a dispute exists concerning wages, hours of labor, or conditions of employment of members of a paid fire department of any county, city, town, fire district, or other governmental unit having a population in excess of twenty thousand or located in a county of the first class, and a request for arbitration is made by either party to the dispute, a firemen's arbitration board shall be appointed as provided in sections 290.350 to 290.380. Request for arbitration may be made by written petition signed by at least fifty-one percent of the employees of the fire department or by resolution of the county commission, council, board, or other governing body having direction and control over the fire department.
(L. 1963 p. 415 § 1)(1968) As applied to constitutional charter cities, sections 290.350 and 290.360, RSMo, are unconstitutional and void as imposing duties upon a municipal officer. State v. Cervantes (Mo.), 423 S.W.2d 791.
290.360. The board shall consist of five members, four of whom shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of the county, city, town, fire district, or other governmental unit involved, and shall be qualified voters of the county, city, town, fire district, or other governmental unit involved. Two of these appointments shall be made from a list of four or more, submitted by the employees. If the request for arbitration is initiated by petition of the employees, the petition shall be accompanied by a list of four or more persons. If the request for arbitration is initiated by the county commission, council, board or other governing body having direction and control over the fire department, the chief executive officer of the county, city, town, fire district, or other governmental unit shall mail a copy of the resolution, together with a request for the submission of a list of four or more prospective members of the firemen's arbitration board to representatives of the employees of the fire department. The four members appointed by the chief executive officer shall select the fifth member of the board, who may or may not be a registered voter of the county, city, town, fire district, or other governmental unit involved. The board shall meet and organize as soon as possible after its appointment. The board shall select from its membership a chairman and any other officers it considers necessary, and make rules of procedure governing its hearings.
(L. 1963 p. 415 § 2)(1968) As applied to constitutional charter cities, sections 290.350 and 290.360, RSMo, are unconstitutional and void as imposing duties upon a municipal officer. State v. Cervantes (Mo.), 423 S.W.2d 791.
290.370. The board shall conduct hearings, with dispatch, for the purpose of hearing evidence relevant to the subject of the dispute, and shall, as soon as practicable, report its findings and recommendations in writing to the chief executive officer of the county, city, town, fire district, or other governmental unit involved, and to any organization of firemen involved. The report shall be concurred in by at least three members of the board. The recommendation shall be advisory only and shall not be binding upon the county, city, town, fire district, or other governmental unit, or upon the members of the fire department involved.
(L. 1963 p. 415 § 3)
290.380. Members of the board shall serve without compensation. All necessary expenses of any hearing conducted by the board members, certified to by all the members of the board, shall be paid by the county, city, town, fire district, or other governmental unit involved.
(L. 1963 p. 415 § 4)
290.400. As used in sections 290.400 to 290.450 the following words have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(1) "Commission", the labor and industrial relations commission of Missouri;
(2) "Employee", every woman or man in receipt of or entitled to compensation for labor performed for any employer;
(3) "Employer", every person, firm, corporation, agent, manager, representative, contractor, subcontractor, principal or other person having control or direction of any woman or man employed at any labor, or responsible directly or indirectly for the wages of another;
(4) "Female", a woman of eighteen years or over;
(5) "Wage rates" or "wages", any compensation for labor measured by time, piece, or otherwise.
(L. 1963 p. 416 § 1)
290.410. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no employer shall pay any female in his employ at wage rates less than the wage rates paid to male employees in the same establishment for the same quantity and quality of the same classification of work, provided that nothing herein shall prohibit a variation of rates of pay for male and female employees engaged in the same classification of work based upon a difference in seniority, length of service, ability, skill, difference in duties or services performed, difference in the shift or time of day worked, hours of work, or restrictions or prohibitions on lifting or moving objects in excess of specified weight, or other reasonable differentiation, or factors other than sex, when exercised in good faith.
(L. 1963 p. 416 § 2)
290.420. Any affected female employee may register with the commission a complaint that the wages paid to her are less than the wages to which she is entitled under sections 290.400 to 290.450.
(L. 1963 p. 416 § 4)
290.430. The commission shall take all proceedings necessary to mediate the dispute concerning the payment of any sums alleged to be due and unpaid to the female employees. The commission shall have the power to issue such regulations not inconsistent with the purpose and provisions of sections 290.400 to 290.450, as it deems necessary or appropriate for the administration thereof.
(L. 1963 p. 416 § 5, A.L. 1965 p. 95)
290.440. 1. Any employer who violates section 290.410 is liable to the female employee affected in the amount of the wages of which the female employee is deprived by reason of the violation.
2. Any female employee receiving less than the wage to which she is entitled under sections 290.400 to 290.450 may recover in a civil action the balance of the wages, together with the costs of suit, notwithstanding any agreement to work for a lesser wage.
3. The burden of proof shall be upon the person bringing the claim to establish that the differentiation in rate of pay is based upon the factor of sex and not upon other differences or factors.
(L. 1963 p. 416 §§ 3, 6, 8)
290.450. Any action based upon or arising under sections 290.400 to 290.450 shall be instituted in the circuit court within six months after the date of the alleged violation, but in no event shall any employer be liable for any pay due under sections 290.400 to 290.450 for more than thirty days prior to receipt by the employer of written notice of claim thereof from the female employee.
(L. 1963 p. 416 § 7)
290.460. The commission shall carry on a continuing program of education, information, study, and community organization concerning the problems of female employees in seeking, obtaining and holding employment without discrimination on account of sex. The commission's power and duties shall include but not be limited to the following:
(1) Promote in cooperation with the federal government, state, local and private agencies and organizations, programs to eliminate discrimination in employment based solely on sex;
(2) Promote research with the view to reducing barriers based solely on sex in the hire, employment and retention of female employees;
(3) Sponsor and correlate in communities of the state, information and educational programs intended to reduce or abolish discrimination in employment based solely on sex;
(4) Recommend to the governor, from time to time, any specific proposals for legislation as may be deemed necessary and proper for the elimination in employment of discrimination based solely on sex.
(L. 1965 p. 439)
290.500. As used in sections 290.500 to 290.530, the following words and phrases mean:
(1) "Agriculture", farming and all its branches including, but not limited to, the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any agricultural commodities, the raising of livestock, fish and other marine life, bees, fur-bearing animals or poultry and any practices performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market;
(2) "Director", the director of the department of labor and industrial relations or his authorized representative;
(3) "Employee", any individual employed by an employer, except that the term "employee" shall not include:
(a) Any individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity;
(b) Any individual engaged in the activities of an educational, charitable, religious, or nonprofit organization where the employer-employee relationship does not, in fact, exist or where the services rendered to the organization are on a voluntary basis;
(c) Any individual standing in loco parentis to foster children in their care;
(d) Any individual employed for less than four months in any year in a resident or day camp for children or youth, or any individual employed by an educational conference center operated by an educational, charitable or not-for-profit organization;
(e) Any individual engaged in the activities of an educational organization where employment by the organization is in lieu of the requirement that the individual pay the cost of tuition, housing or other educational fees of the organization or where earnings of the individual employed by the organization are credited toward the payment of the cost of tuition, housing or other educational fees of the organization;
(f) Any individual employed on or about a private residence on an occasional basis for six hours or less on each occasion;
(g) Any handicapped person employed in a sheltered workshop, certified by the department of elementary and secondary education;
(h) Any person employed on a casual basis to provide baby-sitting services;
(i) Any individual employed by an employer subject to the provisions of part A of subtitle IV of title 49, United States Code, 49 U.S.C. §§ 10101 et seq.;
(j) Any individual employed on a casual or intermittent basis as a golf caddy, newsboy, or in a similar occupation;
(k) Any individual whose earnings are derived in whole or in part from sales commissions and whose hours and places of employment are not substantially controlled by the employer;
(l) Any individual who is employed in any government position defined in 29 U.S.C. §§ 203(e)(2)(C)(i)-(ii);
(m) Any individual employed by a retail or service business whose annual gross volume sales made or business done is less than five hundred thousand dollars;
(n) Any individual who is an offender, as defined in section 217.010, RSMo, who is incarcerated in any correctional facility operated by the department of corrections, including offenders who provide labor or services on the grounds of such correctional facility pursuant to section 217.550, RSMo;
(o) Any individual described by the provisions of section 29 U.S.C. 213(a) (8);
(4) "Employer", any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee;
(5) "Learner and apprentice", any individual under 20 years of age who has not completed the required training for a particular job. In no event shall the individual be deemed a learner or apprentice in the occupation after three months of training except where the director finds, after investigation, that for the particular occupation a minimum of proficiency cannot be acquired in three months. In no case shall a person be declared to be a learner or apprentice after six months of training for a particular employer or job. Employees of an amusement or recreation business that meets the criteria set out in 29 U.S.C. § 213(a) (3) may be deemed a learner or apprentice for ninety working days. No individual shall be deemed a learner or apprentice solely for the purpose of evading the provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530;
(6) "Occupation", any occupation, service, trade, business, industry, or branch or group of industries or employment or class of employment in which individuals are gainfully employed;
(7) "Wage", compensation due to an employee by reason of his employment, payable in legal tender of the United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value;
(8) "Person", any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons;
(9) "Man-day", any day during which an employee performs any agricultural labor for not less than one hour.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 1, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.502. 1. Except as may be otherwise provided pursuant to sections 290.500 to 290.530, effective January 1, 2007, every employer shall pay to each employee wages at the rate of $6.50 per hour, or wages at the same rate or rates set under the provisions of federal law as the prevailing federal minimum wage applicable to those covered jobs in interstate commerce, whichever rate per hour is higher.
2. The minimum wage shall be increased or decreased on January 1, 2008, and on January 1 of successive years, by the increase or decrease in the cost of living. On September 30, 2007, and on each September 30 of each successive year, the director shall measure the increase or decrease in the cost of living by the percentage increase or decrease as of the preceding July over the level as of July of the immediately preceding year of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) or successor index as published by the U.S. Department of Labor or its successor agency, with the amount of the minimum wage increase or decrease rounded to the nearest five cents.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 2, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.505. 1. No employer shall employ any of his employees for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.
2. Employees of an amusement or recreation business that meets the criteria set out in 29 U.S.C. § 213(a) (3) must be paid one and one-half times their regular compensation for any hours worked in excess of fifty-two hours in any one-week period.
3. With the exception of employees described in subsection (2), the overtime requirements of subsection (1) shall not apply to employees who are exempt from federal minimum wage or overtime requirements pursuant to 29 U.S.C.§§ 213(a)-(b).
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 3, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.507. Sections 290.500 to 290.530 shall not apply to any employee or employer engaged in agriculture, as defined in section 290.500 (A) if such employee is employed by an employer who did not, during any calendar quarter during the preceding calendar year, use more than five hundred man-days of agriculture labor, (B) if such employee is the parent, spouse, child, or other member of his employer's immediate family, (C) if such employee (i) is employed as a hand harvest laborer and is paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece rate basis in the region of employment, (ii) commutes daily from his permanent residence to the farm on which he is so employed, and (iii) has been employed in agriculture less than thirteen weeks during the preceding calendar year, (D) if such employee (other than an employee described in clause (C) of this subsection) (i) is sixteen years of age or under and is employed as a hand harvest laborer, is paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece rate basis in the region of employment, (ii) is employed on the same farm as his parent or person standing in the place of his parent, and (iii) is paid at the same piece rate as employees over age sixteen are paid on the same farm, or (E) if such employee is principally engaged in the range production of livestock.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 4, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.510. The director shall have authority to investigate and ascertain the wages of persons employed in any occupation included within the meaning of sections 290.500 to 290.530.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 5, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.512. 1. No employer of any employee who receives and retains compensation in the form of gratuities in addition to wages is required to pay wages in excess of fifty percent of the minimum wage rate specified in sections 290.500 to 290.530, however, total compensation for such employee shall total at least the minimum wage specified in sections 290.500 to 290.530, the difference being made up by the employer.
2. If an employee receives and retains compensation in the form of goods or services as an incident of his employment and if he is not required to exercise any discretion in order to receive the goods or services, the employer is required to pay only the difference between the fair market value of the goods and services and the minimum wage otherwise required to be paid by sections 290.500 to 290.530. The fair market value of the goods and services shall be computed on a weekly basis. The director shall provide by regulation a method of valuing the goods and services received by any employee in lieu of the wages otherwise required to be paid under the provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530. He shall also provide by regulation a method of determining those types of goods and services that are an incident of employment the receipt of which does not require any discretion on the part of the employee.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 6, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.515. After a public hearing at which any person may be heard, the director shall provide by regulation for the employment in any occupation of individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by physical or mental deficiency at wages lower than the wage rate applicable under sections 290.500 to 290.530. The individuals shall be employed as the director finds appropriate to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment, to avoid undue hardship, and to safeguard the wage rate applicable under sections 290.500 to 290.530, except that no individual who maintains a production level within the limits required of other employees shall be paid less than the wage rate applicable under sections 290.500 to 290.530. Employees affected or their guardians shall be given reasonable notice of this hearing.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 7, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.517. After a public hearing of which individual employees affected must be given reasonable notice, the director shall provide by regulation for the employment in any occupation, at wages lower than the wage rate applicable under sections 290.500 to 290.530, of such learners and apprentices as he finds appropriate to prevent curtailment of opportunities for employment. Such wage rate for learners and apprentices shall be not less than 90 cents less than the minimum wage established by sections 290.500 to 290.530. At no time may this provision be used for the purpose of evading the spirit and meaning of sections 290.500 to 290.530.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 8, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.520. Every employer subject to any provision of sections 290.500 to 290.530 or any regulation issued under sections 290.500 to 290.530 shall make and keep for a period of not less than three years on or about the premises wherein any employee is employed or at some other premises which is suitable to the employer, a record of the name, address and occupation of each of his employees, the rate of pay, the amount paid each pay period to each employee, the hours worked each day and each workweek by the employee and any goods or services provided by the employer to the employee as provided in section 290.512. The records shall be open for inspection by the director by appointment. Where the records required under this section are kept outside the state, the records shall be made available to the director upon demand. Every such employer shall furnish to the director on demand a sworn statement of time records and information upon forms prescribed or approved by the director. All the records and information obtained by the department of labor and industrial relations are confidential and shall be disclosed only on order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 9, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.522. Every employer subject to any provision of sections 290.500 to 290.530 or of any regulations issued under sections 290.500 to 290.530 shall keep a summary of sections 290.500 to 290.530, approved by the director, and copies of any applicable wage regulations issued under sections 290.500 to 290.530, or a summary of the wage regulations posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about the premises wherein any person subject thereto is employed. Employers shall be furnished copies of the summaries and regulations by the state on request without charge.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 10, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.525. Any employer who hinders the director in the performance of his duties in the enforcement of sections 290.500 to 290.530 by any of the following acts is guilty of a class C misdemeanor:
(1) Refusing to admit the director to any place of employment;
(2) Failing to make, keep and preserve any records as required under the provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530;
(3) Falsifying any record required under the provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530;
(4) Refusing to make any record required under the provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530 accessible to the director;
(5) Refusing to furnish a sworn statement of any record required under the provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530 or any other information required for the proper enforcement of sections 290.500 to 290.530 to the director upon demand;
(6) Failing to post a summary of sections 290.500 to 290.530 or a copy of any applicable regulation as required;
(7) Discharging or in any other manner discriminating against any employee who has notified the director that he has not been paid wages in accordance with the provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530, or who has caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to sections 290.500 to 290.530, or who has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding;
(8) Paying or agreeing to pay wages at a rate less than the rate applicable under sections 290.500 to 290.530. Payment at such rate for any week or portion of a week constitutes a separate offense as to each employee;
(9) Otherwise violating any provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530.
Each day of violation constitutes a separate offense.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 11, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.527. Any employer who pays any employee less wages than the wages to which the employee is entitled under or by virtue of sections 290.500 to 290.530 shall be liable to the employee affected for the full amount of the wage rate and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, less any amount actually paid to the employee by the employer and for costs and such reasonable attorney fees as may be allowed by the court or jury. The employee may bring any legal action necessary to collect the claim. Any agreement between the employee and the employer to work for less than the wage rate shall be no defense to the action. All actions for the collection of any deficiency in wages shall be commenced within two years of the accrual of the cause of action.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 12, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.528. Any standards relating to minimum wages, maximum hours, overtime compensation or other working conditions in effect under any other law of this state on August 28, 1990, which are more favorable to employees than those applicable to employees under sections 290.500 to 290.530 or the regulations issued under sections 290.500 to 290.530, shall not be deemed to be amended, rescinded, or otherwise affected by sections 290.500 to 290.530 but shall continue in full force and effect and may be enforced as provided by law.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 13, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.530. Nothing in sections 290.500 to 290.530 shall be deemed to interfere with, impede, or in any way diminish the right of employees to bargain collectively with their employers through representatives of their own choosing in order to establish wages or other conditions of work in excess of the applicable minimum under the provisions of sections 290.500 to 290.530.
(L. 1990 H.B. 1881 § 14, A.L. 2006 Adopted by Initiative, Proposition B, November 7, 2006)
290.550. As used in sections 290.550 to 290.580, the following terms mean:
(1) "Laborers from nonrestrictive states", persons who are residents of a state which has not enacted state laws restricting Missouri laborers from working on public works projects in that state, as determined by the labor and industrial relations commission;
(2) "Missouri laborer", any person who has resided in Missouri for at least thirty days and intends to become or remain a Missouri resident;
(3) "A period of excessive unemployment", any month immediately following two consecutive calendar months during which the level of unemployment in the state has exceeded five percent as measured by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly publication of employment and unemployment figures;
(4) "Public works", projects defined as public works pursuant to section 290.210.
(L. 1993 H.B. 416 & 417 § 1)
290.555. Sections 290.550 to 290.580 apply to all labor on public works projects or improvements, whether skilled, semiskilled or unskilled, and whether manual or nonmanual except work done directly by any public utility company and not let to contract.
(L. 1993 H.B. 416 & 417 § 2)
290.560. Whenever there is a period of excessive unemployment in this state, every person who is charged with the duty, either by law or contract, of constructing or building any public works project or improvement for the state or any political subdivision, municipal corporation or other governmental unit thereof shall employ only Missouri laborers and laborers from nonrestrictive states on such project or improvement, and every contract let by any such person shall contain a provision requiring that such labor be used, except that other laborers may be used when Missouri laborers or laborers from nonrestrictive states are not available, or are incapable of performing the particular type of work involved, if so certified by the contractor and approved by the contracting officer.
(L. 1993 H.B. 416 & 417 § 3)
290.565. The provisions of sections 290.550 to 290.580 shall not apply to regularly employed nonresident executive, supervisory or technical personnel.
(L. 1993 H.B. 416 & 417 § 4)
290.570. In all contracts involving the expenditure of federal aid funds, sections 290.550 to 290.580 shall not be enforced in such manner as to conflict with any federal statutes or rules and regulations.
(L. 1993 H.B. 416 & 417 § 5)
290.575. Any person who knowingly fails to use Missouri laborers or laborers from nonrestrictive states as required in section 290.560 shall be guilty of an infraction. Each separate case of failure to use Missouri laborers or laborers from nonrestrictive states on such public works projects or improvements shall constitute a separate offense.
(L. 1993 H.B. 416 & 417 § 6)
290.580. Sections 290.550 to 290.580 shall be enforced by the department of labor and industrial relations, which, as represented by the attorney general, is empowered to sue for injunctive relief against the awarding of any contract or the continuation of any work under any contract for public works or improvements at a time when the provisions of sections 290.550 to 290.580 are not being met.
(L. 1993 H.B. 416 & 417 § 7)
Missouri General Assembly