Missouri Employment Law for Martial Arts Schools: Non-Competes, Pay and Hiring Rules

Missouri courts will enforce an employee non-compete only if it protects a legitimate business interest and is reasonable in time, territory and scope.

Can a martial arts school in Missouri make instructors sign a non-compete?

Missouri courts enforce employee non-competes under common law when they are reasonable in time and area and protect trade secrets or customer contacts. Missouri has no income threshold or notice rule. RSMo § 431.202 addresses non-solicitation of employees, not non-competes generally. A reasonably limited non-compete can bind an instructor who has real student relationships.

Can you stop a departing instructor from soliciting your students?

Missouri courts commonly enforce reasonable customer and student non-solicitation clauses to protect customer goodwill and contacts (Not confirmed — check with local counsel).

Can you stop a departing instructor from recruiting your staff?

RSMo § 431.202 makes employee non-solicitation clauses presumptively reasonable if they last no more than one year after employment ends.

What is the minimum wage for instructors in Missouri?

$15.00 an hour since January 1, 2026, under voter-approved Proposition A. Tipped employees must get at least $7.50 an hour in cash wages. Retail and service businesses with annual gross sales under $500,000 are exempt from the state rate. HB 567 (2025) repealed the automatic inflation increases that were to start in 2027, so no 2027 increase is scheduled. State law preempts city minimum wages.

When do instructors earn overtime?

Time-and-a-half after 40 hours a week. Missouri has no daily overtime. Seasonal amusement or recreation businesses have a 52-hour threshold. Missouri is not known to set a salary threshold for exempt employees above the federal one (Not confirmed — check with local counsel).

When is the final paycheck due?

A fired employee must be paid all wages due on the day of discharge (RSMo § 290.110). If the employee makes a written request and is still unpaid after 7 days, penalty wages can run for up to 60 days. Missouri has no statute for employees who quit, so the next regular payday is customary. Earned commissions should be paid under the plan’s terms.

What background checks can you run on instructors who teach children?

Missouri has no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. Kansas City and Columbia have local fair-chance ordinances that cover private employers (Not confirmed — check with local counsel, on thresholds), and Kansas City also bans salary-history questions. The Missouri Family Care Safety Registry lets child-care workers register and be screened (Not confirmed — check with local counsel, on use by martial arts schools). The sex-offender registry is public through the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Are martial arts instructors mandated reporters of child abuse?

Missouri uses a list of mandated reporters (RSMo § 210.115). The list includes catch-all language about other persons responsible for the care of children, which may cover instructors supervising kids (Not confirmed — check with local counsel). Report to the Children’s Division hotline. Anyone may report.

What can a dress code or grooming policy require?

Missouri has no statewide CROWN Act, though some cities have passed hair-discrimination ordinances. The Missouri Human Rights Act (6 or more employees) covers religion and sex but does not list gender identity. Federal law (Bostock) protects gender identity for employers with 15 or more employees.

How far can a morals or conduct clause reach into off-duty life?

RSMo § 290.145 protects lawful off-duty use of alcohol and tobacco off the employer’s premises (Not confirmed — check with local counsel, on scope). Recreational marijuana is legal under the state constitution, but off-duty adult use is not clearly job-protected (Not confirmed — check with local counsel).

Do you have to disclose pay or allow staff to discuss it?

Missouri has no statewide pay-range posting requirement.

What privacy rules apply to student and parent records?

Missouri has no comprehensive consumer privacy law. The state data breach notification law applies.

Other Missouri rules that catch school owners

Proposition A’s paid sick leave mandate took effect May 1, 2025, but HB 567 repealed it effective August 28, 2025. Missouri therefore has no state sick-leave mandate in 2026. Teen assistant instructors aged 14–15 need work certificates and must follow hour limits.

What to watch in Missouri

Advocates have discussed litigation over HB 567 and a new ballot initiative to restore paid sick leave and minimum wage indexing (Not confirmed — check with local counsel, on 2026 ballot status).

The bottom line for Missouri schools

If you use a non-compete at all, reserve it for senior roles with a real legitimate interest, and keep time, territory and activity narrow. Where Missouri law allows it, a narrow student non-solicitation clause limited to students the employee actually taught, a confidentiality agreement, and real control of the student database protect a school far better.

Sources

• Missouri Paid Sick Leave Repeal & Minimum Wage Roll-Back (Checkwriters)
• Missouri Labor Laws 2026 (HiveDesk)
• Missouri Lawmakers Vote to Repeal Paid Sick Leave (Fisher Phillips)

Also for Missouri: Martial arts laws in Missouri · Missouri membership contracts

What every martial arts school staff package should contain

• Offer or employment agreement: the legal employer, the role and duties, workplace, pay, employment status and termination terms, reviewed against local rules. U.S. at-will language does not belong in a Canadian contract.
• Compensation schedule: hourly or salary terms, commissions and bonuses, and exactly when each is earned and paid. Record all working time, not only time on the mat. See instructor pay structures and overtime.
• Appearance and conduct policies: functional uniform, hygiene and safety standards with a written accommodation process. See the dress code and grooming guide.
• Child-protection policy: boundaries, private communications, transport, supervision and reporting. See the conduct clause guide and background checks for instructors.
• Confidentiality and data-security agreement: student records, CRM access, permitted use, return and deletion, and protected-disclosure exceptions (in the U.S., the federal DTSA whistleblower-immunity notice). See student data and trade secrets.
• Restrictive-covenant addendum: only what local law permits, usually a narrow student or staff non-solicitation clause; a non-compete only in exceptional cases. See non-compete laws by state and non-solicitation agreements.

Planning for a departure? Read When an instructor leaves: protecting students and records. Every state and province is indexed in the Martial Arts Employment Law Center.

Before you act on this

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Employment, wage, human-rights, privacy and restrictive-covenant laws change, and their application depends on the exact wording of an agreement, the employee’s duties and pay, where the work is done and when the agreement was signed. Confirm the current statute, regulations and agency guidance, and take advice from a lawyer admitted in the relevant state or province, before drafting, changing or enforcing an employment agreement. Corrections: see our editorial policy.