Missouri Paid Leave Laws: Sick Leave, Family Leave & FMLA (2026)

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) is the primary and dominant source of job-protected leave for Missouri workers. Because Missouri has no state paid family leave program and no longer has a state paid sick leave mandate, Missouri FMLA rights represent the ceiling of statutory leave entitlement for most private-sector employees. The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations directs employees seeking leave protections to federal FMLA as the governing framework. (Missouri DOLIR — Wages, Hours and Dismissal Rights)

FMLA Coverage and Eligibility

The FMLA applies to the following employers: private-sector employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year, within 75 miles of the worksite; all public agencies, regardless of employee count; and local educational agencies including public and private elementary and secondary schools, regardless of employee count. (U.S. DOL FMLA)

To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must satisfy all three of the following conditions: (1) the employee has worked for the covered employer for at least 12 months; (2) the employee has worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the start of leave; and (3) the employee works at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. (U.S. DOL FMLA) Airline flight crew employees are subject to special hours-of-service eligibility rules.

The 12 months of employment need not be consecutive. Breaks in service of less than seven years generally count toward the 12-month requirement; certain longer breaks may also count in specific circumstances.

Qualifying Reasons Under FMLA

FMLA leave in Missouri may be taken for the following qualifying reasons, up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period:

• Birth of a child and care for the newborn within the first year of birth
• Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, within the first year of placement
• Care for an immediate family member — defined as a spouse, child, or parent — who has a serious health condition
• An employee’s own serious health condition that renders the employee unable to perform the essential functions of the job
• A qualifying exigency arising from the covered active duty, or an impending call to covered active duty, of a spouse, child, or parent in the Armed Forces

An eligible employee may also take up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period for military caregiver leave — to care for a covered servicemember or covered veteran with a serious injury or illness — if the employee is the servicemember’s child, parent, spouse, or next of kin. (U.S. DOL FMLA)

Is FMLA Paid or Unpaid in Missouri?

Missouri FMLA leave is unpaid. The FMLA provides job-protected, benefit-continuing leave without requiring employers to pay wages during the leave period. (U.S. DOL FMLA) Missouri has no state paid family and medical leave program that runs concurrently with FMLA. Employees may substitute accrued employer-provided paid leave — such as PTO, vacation, or sick time — during FMLA leave if the employer’s policy permits or requires it, or if the qualifying reason would otherwise permit use of accrued paid leave under an employer’s existing policy. The FMLA does not itself create an entitlement to pay; it creates an entitlement to job-protected unpaid leave. Missouri employers are not prohibited from providing voluntary paid leave during FMLA, but state law does not require it.

For employees considering options to generate income during FMLA leave, voluntary short-term disability (STD) coverage, if obtained before pregnancy or illness, may provide a partial wage replacement. Some remote workers employed by out-of-state companies may have access to those states’ paid leave programs — see Section 8.

Does FMLA Apply to Small Businesses in Missouri?

FMLA does not apply to private-sector employers with fewer than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. (U.S. DOL FMLA) Missouri has no state family leave law with a lower employer threshold. This means that employees of small Missouri businesses — roughly defined as those with fewer than 50 qualifying employees in the relevant geographic radius — have no statutory entitlement to job-protected family or medical leave beyond what the employer voluntarily provides. The FMLA’s 50-employee threshold is based on the number of employees at the worksite plus all worksites within 75 miles, not total company headcount.

Employers that do not meet the FMLA threshold may still choose to provide voluntary leave policies. Missouri law does not prohibit employers from offering leave benefits exceeding state or federal minimums.

How to Confirm FMLA Coverage

Coverage and eligibility questions specific to a worksite can be directed to the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. The DOL maintains a nationwide contact and complaint portal at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints. The DOL also publishes the official FMLA Employee Guide, updated January 2026, at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla.

FMLA Notice, Certification, and Employer Obligations

Covered employers are required to post the official FMLA notice provided by the U.S. Department of Labor in a location where it can be read by employees and applicants. (U.S. DOL FMLA) Employees seeking FMLA leave for a foreseeable reason must provide at least 30 days’ advance notice when practicable; for unforeseeable leave, notice must be provided as soon as practicable. Employers may require medical certification to support a request for FMLA leave; the employer must allow at least 15 calendar days for the employee to return certification. FMLA leave may be taken continuously, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule when medically necessary or for qualifying exigencies. Intermittent bonding leave requires employer agreement.

During FMLA leave, covered employers must maintain the employee’s group health insurance coverage under the same terms as if the employee had continued working. Upon return from FMLA leave, eligible employees are entitled to restoration to the same position or an equivalent position with the same pay, benefits, and working conditions.

FMLA Interaction with Missouri Employment Law

Missouri follows the employment-at-will doctrine, meaning the employment relationship may be terminated at any time for any reason absent a contract, civil rights violation, or limited public policy exception. (Missouri DOLIR — Wages, Hours and Dismissal Rights) FMLA’s job restoration protections are federal in origin; Missouri does not layer additional state-law job protections on top of FMLA for the leave period itself. However, retaliation for taking FMLA leave may give rise to federal claims under 29 U.S.C. § 2615 regardless of Missouri’s at-will doctrine. Missouri employers with multistate operations should also review the Missouri overtime laws overview for related federal compliance obligations under the FLSA, which similarly applies through the U.S. Department of Labor.