Missouri Overtime Pay Calculator

Missouri sets its own overtime standard under Missouri's Minimum Wage Law (Mo. Rev. Stat. §290.500 et seq.), which tracks the federal 40-hour workweek rule: 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week, with no daily overtime requirement. Missouri's minimum wage has risen steadily through voter-approved ballot initiatives in recent years, reaching $13.75/hr for 2026, which makes the standard overtime rate $20.63/hr rounded for minimum-wage workers.

A notable feature of Missouri law is that its minimum wage statute exempts retail and service businesses with gross annual sales under $500,000 from the state minimum wage requirement, though those same businesses are frequently still covered by the federal FLSA if they engage in interstate commerce, meaning the federal $7.25/hr floor and 40-hour overtime rule can still apply even where the state exemption technically kicks in.

Missouri also automatically increases its minimum wage annually based on the cost of living, per the ballot measure that established the current framework, which means the overtime rate recalculates each year rather than staying flat for long stretches — payroll systems that aren't updated promptly are a common source of underpayment discovered later.

The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, through its Division of Labor Standards, investigates wage complaints including unpaid overtime under state law. Workers can file directly with the division, and Missouri law also permits a private lawsuit for unpaid wages, with the possibility of recovering the shortfall plus additional damages under the state minimum wage law for certain violations.

Missouri's statute of limitations for state minimum wage and overtime claims is generally three years, matching the outer edge of the federal FLSA's willful-violation window, so filing under Missouri law is often at least as favorable and sometimes simpler procedurally than pursuing a purely federal claim, particularly for workers whose employer is small enough to fall outside strict FLSA coverage.

The main Missouri-specific trap is the small-business exemption from the state minimum wage: workers at a small retail or service business under $500,000 in annual sales might be told the state minimum wage doesn't apply to them, but if that same business ships goods across state lines, buys from out-of-state suppliers, or otherwise engages in interstate commerce, the federal FLSA minimum wage and overtime rules still apply regardless of the state exemption.

Missouri's minimum wage law also excludes certain categories like some seasonal amusement or recreational establishment employees and agricultural workers from state minimum wage and overtime coverage, echoing similar federal carve-outs. Tipped employees in Missouri can be paid a reduced direct cash wage — roughly half the full minimum wage — as long as tips make up the difference, but overtime must be calculated using the full $13.75 minimum wage, not the reduced tipped rate, a calculation restaurant employers frequently get wrong when the state minimum wage rises each January.