Pay Frequency and Wage-Payment Lag Requirements in Missouri
At a glance
| Governing law | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 290.080 |
|---|---|
| Who the recurring-pay rule covers | Corporations doing business in Missouri and persons operating railroads or railroad shops; not written as a universal rule for every private employer (§ 290.080) |
| Minimum pay frequency | Semimonthly for covered employees; specified classifications may be monthly at employer option (§ 290.080) |
| Maximum pay-period length or structure | Semimonthly generally; monthly for named classification/commission exceptions (§ 290.080) |
| Latest payday after work is performed | Within 16 days after each payroll period closes (§ 290.080) |
| Regular payday designation and changes | No advance payday designation, posting, or schedule-change notice rule stated in § 290.080 |
| Classification and industry exceptions | Executive, administrative, professional, sales, and employees paid wholly/partly by commission may be monthly (§ 290.080) |
| Enforcement and remedies | Violation is a misdemeanor; conviction carries $50-$500 fine for each offense (§ 290.080) |
Requirements one by one
Coverage turns on the employer's legal form or industry
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 290.080 applies to all corporations doing business in Missouri and to all persons operating railroads or railroad shops in the state. The section is not written as a universal recurring-pay rule for every kind of private employer.
For a covered employer, ordinary employees must be paid as often as semimonthly. Each payment must arrive within sixteen days after the applicable payroll period closes.
Named classifications may be paid monthly
At the employer's option, executive, administrative, and professional employees may be paid monthly. The same monthly alternative applies to sales people and other employees whose compensation is based wholly or partly on commission.
The classification exception changes frequency, but the statute does not state a separate monthly-payment lag for those employees.
A violation is a misdemeanor
Section 290.080 makes a violation a misdemeanor. On conviction, the fine is at least $50 and no more than $500 for each offense.
What trips people up
The coverage sentence matters. The semimonthly rule applies broadly to corporations, but outside that category the statute specifically names persons operating railroads or railroad shops. It should not be paraphrased as a universal rule for every Missouri business regardless of legal form.
The sixteen-day period is a lag measured from the close of each payroll period. It is separate from the requirement to use a semimonthly schedule.
Common questions
May a covered Missouri corporation pay ordinary employees monthly?
No. The general schedule for covered employees is semimonthly. Monthly payment is reserved for the classifications and compensation arrangements named in § 290.080.
May a commission employee be paid monthly?
Yes. An employee compensated wholly or partly on commission is within the express monthly alternative.
Does the statute require a posted regular payday?
Section 290.080 does not state an advance designation or posting rule. It does separately require a monthly statement of total deductions, which is outside this survey's payday-notice scope.
Statutes and sources
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 290.080. Coverage, semimonthly frequency, sixteen-day lag, monthly classification exceptions, and misdemeanor fine. Official text (accessed July 12, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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