CLIENT CENTER CALL NOW

Paid Sick Time (PST) Time Tracking and Payroll: What You Need to Stay Compliant in 2025

If you don’t already know, there are big changes happening in payroll and time tracking rules for Missouri businesses.

Here’s why: In 2024, Missouri voters approved a new law for sick leave, which requires employers to give paid leave to employees working in the state. So, starting May 1, if you’ve got employees, you’ll need to track their working hours and manage payroll a little differently.

Getting up to speed with these changes now can help you avoid stressful slip-ups later – mistakes that can lead to fines, penalties, and even legal trouble for your small business.

We know this might sound like a lot to learn in a short amount of time. But even though these rules might be new ground, they’re not too hard to get the hang of.

We’ll break down exactly what the new law means for your payroll and time tracking to help you stay compliant.

Missouri’s new law for paid sick leave

Beginning May 1, 2025, Missouri’s new PST law (enacted through Proposition A) grants employees the right to take paid sick leave for: 

  • Their own health needs (personal illness, injury, medical appointments, etc.).
  • Looking after a sick family member (if their loved one needs support with medical care or a health condition).
  • Public health emergencies (if a business or school closes due to a medical outbreak – like we saw during Covid).
  • Safety-related issues (when time is needed off work due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking).

Keep in mind: An employee’s “family member” might be a spouse or children; but the term is broad enough to include domestic partners, parents, grandparents, siblings, and anyone else the employee cares for or is in a committed relationship with, too.

Heads up: There’s currently a bill moving through the Missouri legislature that could overturn the new PST law. It passed the Missouri House on March 13, 2025, and is now being considered by the Senate.

If it becomes law, the repeal would take effect on August 28, 2025. Employees covered for sick pay under the new rules might no longer be entitled to it after that date. So don’t forget to keep an eye on this moving forward!

How do PST regulations impact time tracking?

Missouri paid time off laws will change how you track time on your employees’ working hours in a few ways (none of them major). Getting this right means you stay compliant with the law with a clear picture of how much sick time each team member is entitled to. 

Here’s how the new rules will work:

Accrual of time

For every 30 hours your employees work, they’ll earn 1 hour of PST. It’s a great perk for your team, but it means a bit of extra admin for you. Luckily, it’s not too complicated. The main thing is making sure you’re tracking the hours your employees work correctly. Once you’ve got that down, working out how much PST they’ve earned is pretty simple.

Using the time

Your employees can use the sick time they’ve earned as soon as they’ve earned it. So it’s a good idea to have a simple way to track hours and handle sick time requests ready to go by May 1.

Carryover rules

What happens to the sick leave employees earn but don’t use? Great question! Up to 80 hours of unused sick leave can be rolled over to the next year. As long as you’ve got a system in place to track what’s been used and what’s left, you’ll be good to go.

Smaller increments

Employees don’t have to take a whole day off to use their sick time. They can use it in smaller bits, like one hour here or 30 minutes there, depending on their needs. 

So, if someone has to duck out early for a doctor’s appointment, your time tracking system should be able to deduct those hours from their earned sick time without any complications.

How does PST impact payroll?

You’ll be happy to hear that, just like time tracking, the new payroll rules are pretty easy to get to grips with. Here’s what you need to know:

Paid sick time vs. other pay on payroll

While it’ll take a few extra steps to track and report employee PST, it won’t change their regular pay rate. When an employee uses their PST, you’ll pay them for the time off (just like any other type of paid time off). Just be sure to track those hours separately from any unpaid leave, paid annual leave, overtime, etc.

Sick leave limits and notice requirements

Here are a couple more important details to be aware of in the lead up to May 1:

PST usage limits 

While there’s no limit to how many paid sick days an employee can accrue over time, there’s a cap on how many they can use each year:

  • For businesses with 15 or more employees, employees can use up to 56 hours of PST per year.
  • For businesses with fewer than 15 employees, the cap is 40 hours per year.

But don’t stop tracking the hours they earn once they reach their paid leave cap for the year! Remember, up to 80 hours of the additional sick time they earn can roll over into the following year.

Notice period for employees 

You’ll need to give all employees a written notice about the new PST policy within a reasonable period – by April 15, 2025, or within 14 days of employment, whichever comes later. 


This notice needs to include: 

Don’t forget: Starting April 15, 2025, you’ll also need to put up a poster with this information in your workplace.

Manage new PST laws with Payroll Central

Staying compliant with new PST laws doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. Payroll Central’s advanced payroll solutions help you comply with tax, labor, and ACA regulations, including the new PST laws. 

Whether you prefer traditional time clocks or automated time tracking software, our flexible solutions have you covered. Everything you need to track working hours, time off accrued, and time off taken is hosted on a secure online platform, where you can easily submit payroll info and make employee changes at any time. 

And whether you’ve got a team of 3 or 300, we’re ready to grow with your business, and help make sure your employees get the sick leave they’re entitled to.

Simply give us a quick call to get started or for more info on how we can help you comply with labor laws for Missouri businesses like yours.