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Read. Follow. Verify.Missouri House Bill 2285 requires mandatory severance and advance notice for qualifying mass layoffs and facility closures
Last action · May 15, 2026: Referred: Emerging Issues(H)Sponsor: Doug Clemens
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What This Bill Would Do
Employers with 100 or more employees must provide at least 90 days' advance notice and mandatory severance pay equal to one week of pay per year of service when executing s, operations transfers, or closures. If required notice is deficient, employers must pay an additional four weeks of compensation. The rules take effect August 28, 2026, under oversight by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
Displaced workers in s operating over three years gain guaranteed financial compensation and advance warning during major workforce reductions, while private business entities face strict liabilities and mandatory severance costs tied to employee tenure and notice periods.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Employees
Employees terminated in qualifying mass layoffs or closures receive guaranteed severance pay based on tenure and mandatory advance notice.
Employers
Establishments employing 100 or more workers must provide advance notice to officials and workers, and pay statutory severance upon mass layoffs or operational closures.
Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
The department receives layoff notifications, oversees waiver approvals, and promulgates rules and regulations for administration.
Key Facts
- Applies to employers with 100 or more employees operating an establishment for longer than three years.
- Mandates at least 90 days' notice, or the period required under the federal WARN Act, before mass layoffs, operations transfers, or closures.
- Requires severance pay equal to one week of pay for each full year of employment upon termination.
- Imposes an additional four weeks of pay if the employer provides less than the required notification period.
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- Calculates severance using either the average regular rate of compensation received during the last three years or the final regular rate, whichever is higher.
- Prohibits waiver of severance rights without approval from the director of the department of labor and industrial relations or a court of competent jurisdiction.
- Grants rulemaking authority to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, subject to chapter 536 provisions effective August 28, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers the mandatory severance requirement under House Bill 2285?
How is the amount of severance pay calculated?
Are seasonal workers or employees fired for misconduct eligible for severance?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
4 actions- May 15, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Emerging Issues(H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseFloorRead Second Time (H)
- Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead First Time (H)
- Dec 9, 2025HouseIntroducedPrefiled (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
house.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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