Gov. Parson still wants lawmakers to give all state workers pay raise

State workers are closer to getting a pay raise, but which department you work for could affect how big the pay boost is.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson wanted lawmakers to increase all state employees’ wages to $15 an hour and to do it by Feb. 1. Instead, the House passed a bill Thursday, nearly 10 days after the deadline, that would only give that raise to workers in frontline positions. The governor disagrees with the plan and hopes it changes before it makes it to his desk.

“For a governor that was not inclined towards pay raises, he now recognizes we are in an emergency, a crisis,” said Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis. “Every single one of the department heads has told us they are having a nightmare of a time hiring and retaining workers.”

Missouri has the lowest-paid state workers in the nation, which is why Parson recommended a 5.5% cost of living adjustment and $15 an hour minimum pay, but Republican representatives don’t all agree with the governor. The full story can be read on ozarksfirst.com.