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Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 288.120 (2026)

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  *288.120.  Employer's contribution rate, how determined — exception shared work plan, how computed — surcharges for employers taxed at the maximum rate — overpayments, time limit for appeal. — 1.  On each June thirtieth, or within a reasonable time thereafter as may be fixed by regulation, the balance of an employer's experience rating account, except an employer participating in a shared work plan under section 288.500, shall determine his contribution rate for the following calendar year as determined by the following table:

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Percentage the Employer's Experience Rating
Account is to that Employer's Average Annual Payroll
Equals or Exceeds Less Than Contribution Rate
- - -12.0 6.0%
-12.0 -11.0 5.8%
-11.0 -10.0 5.6%
-10.0 -9.0 5.4%
-9.0 -8.0 5.2%
-8.0 -7.0 5.0%
-7.0 -6.0 4.8%
-6.0 -5.0 4.6%
-5.0 -4.0 4.4%
-4.0 -3.0 4.2%
-3.0 -2.0 4.0%
-2.0 -1.0 3.8%
-1.0 0 3.6%
0 2.5 2.7%
2.5 3.5 2.6%
3.5 4.5 2.5%
4.5 5.0 2.4%
5.0 5.5 2.3%
5.5 6.0 2.2%
6.0 6.5 2.1%
6.5 7.0 2.0%
7.0 7.5 1.9%
7.5 8.0 1.8%
8.0 8.5 1.7%
8.5 9.0 1.6%
9.0 9.5 1.5%
9.5 10.0 1.4%
10.0 10.5 1.3%
10.5 11.0 1.2%
11.0 11.5 1.1%
11.5 12.0 1.0%
12.0 12.5 0.9%
12.5 13.0 0.8%
13.0 13.5 0.6%
13.5 14.0 0.4%
14.0 14.5 0.3%
14.5 15.0 0.2%
15.0 - - 0.0%

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  2.  Using the same mathematical principles used in constructing the table provided in subsection 1 of this section, the following table has been constructed.  The contribution rate for the following calendar year of any employer participating in a shared work plan under section 288.500 during the current calendar year or any calendar year during a prior three-year period shall be determined from the balance in such employer's experience rating account as of the previous June thirtieth, or within a reasonable time thereafter as may be fixed by regulation, from the following table:

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Percentage the Employer's Experience Rating
Account is to that Employer's Average Annual Payroll
Equals or Exceeds Less Than Contribution Rate
- - -27.0 9.0%
-27.0 -26.0 8.8%
-26.0 -25.0 8.6%
-25.0 -24.0 8.4%
-24.0 -23.0 8.2%
-23.0 -22.0 8.0%
-22.0 -21.0 7.8%
-21.0 -20.0 7.6%
-20.0 -19.0 7.4%
-19.0 -18.0 7.2%
-18.0 -17.0 7.0%
-17.0 -16.0 6.8%
-16.0 -15.0 6.6%
-15.0 -14.0 6.4%
-14.0 -13.0 6.2%
-13.0 -12.0 6.0%
-12.0 -11.0 5.8%
-11.0 -10.0 5.6%
-10.0 -9.0 5.4%
-9.0 -8.0 5.2%
-8.0 -7.0 5.0%
-7.0 -6.0 4.8%
-6.0 -5.0 4.6%
-5.0 -4.0 4.4%
-4.0 -3.0 4.2%
-3.0 -2.0 4.0%
-2.0 -1.0 3.8%
-1.0 0 3.6%
0 2.5 2.7%
2.5 3.5 2.6%
3.5 4.5 2.5%
4.5 5.0 2.4%
5.0 5.5 2.3%
5.5 6.0 2.2%
6.0 6.5 2.1%
6.5 7.0 2.0%
7.0 7.5 1.9%
7.5 8.0 1.8%
8.0 8.5 1.7%
8.5 9.0 1.6%
9.0 9.5 1.5%
9.5 10.0 1.4%
10.0 10.5 1.3%
10.5 11.0 1.2%
11.0 11.5 1.1%
11.5 12.0 1.0%
12.0 12.5 0.9%
12.5 13.0 0.8%
13.0 13.5 0.6%
13.5 14.0 0.4%
14.0 14.5 0.3%
14.5 15.0 0.2%
15.0 - - 0.0%

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  3.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 2 of section 288.090, any employer participating in a shared work plan under section 288.500 who has not had at least twelve calendar months immediately preceding the calculation date throughout which his account could have been charged with benefits shall have a contribution rate equal to the highest contribution rate in the table in subsection 2 of this section, until such time as his account has been chargeable with benefits for the period of time sufficient to enable him to qualify for a computed rate on the same basis as other employers participating in shared work plans.

  4.  Employers who have been taxed at the maximum rate pursuant to this section for two consecutive years shall have a surcharge of one-quarter percent added to their contribution rate calculated pursuant to this section.  In the event that an employer remains at the maximum rate pursuant to this section for a third or subsequent year, an additional surcharge of one-quarter percent shall be annually assessed, but in no case shall the surcharge authorized in this subsection cumulatively exceed one percent.  Additionally, if an employer continues to remain at the maximum rate pursuant to this section an additional surcharge of one-half percent shall be assessed.  In no case shall the total surcharge assessed to any employer exceed one and one-half percent in any given year.

  5.  For a period of sixty days beginning ** October 16, 2015, an employer who reasonably believes that he or she has been assigned an erroneous experience rating as a result of the purchase of a company shall have the right to file a timely appeal for recovery of overpayments for the last five years due to such erroneous assignment.

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(L. 1972 H.B. 1017, A.L. 1979 S.B. 477, A.L. 1984 H.B. 1251 & 1549, A.L. 1987 S.B. 153, A.L. 2004 H.B. 1268 & 1211, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1456, A.L. 2015 H.B. 150)

*Effective 10-16-15, see § 21.250.  H.B. 150 was vetoed on May 5, 2015. The veto was overridden by the House on May 12, 2015, and by the Senate on September 16, 2015.

*Revisor's Note: This section was declared unconstitutional in Pestka et al. v. State, see 2016 annotation below.

**Word "with" appears in original rolls.

(2016) Only bills returned by the Governor on or after the fifth day before the end of the regular legislative session can be taken up during September veto session, thus Senate veto session vote to override the Governor's veto of HB 150 was untimely.  Pestka et al. v. State, No. SC95369 (Mo.).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1955–2024 · leading case: Producers Produce Co. v. Indus. Comm'n of Missouri, Div. of Emp. Sec., 281 S.W.2d 619 (Mo. Ct. App. 1955).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Producers Produce Co. v. Indus. Comm'n of Missouri, Div. of Emp. Sec., 281 S.W.2d 619 (Mo. Ct. App. 1955). · cites it 15× “” Under section 288.120 RSMo 1949 it is expressly provided that an unemployed worker will be denied benefits if the division finds “that he has left his work voluntarily without good cause attributable to his employment or if “the division finds that his total or partial…”
Producers Produce Co. v. Indus. Comm'n of Missouri Div. of Emp. Sec., 291 S.W.2d 166 (Mo. 1956). · cites it 5× “Section 288.120 RSMo 1949 [now See.' 288.”
Anderson Air Activities, Inc. v. Div. of Emp. Sec., 321 S.W.2d 710 (Mo. 1959). · cites it 6× “The division shall determine the contribution rate of each such employer in accordance with section 288.120.» Section 288.120, just referred to, provides, in subsection 1(1), “Each employer’s rate for the twelve months commencing January first of any calendar year shall be…”
Mid-Continent Aircraft Corp. v. Indus. Comm'n, 453 S.W.2d 658 (Mo. Ct. App. 1970). · cites it 7× “Furthermore, Section 288.120 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S., clearly provides that only contributions “paid and credited for all past periods” can be considered in a rate calculation.”
Ana Ramirez v. Div. of Emp. Sec., 697 S.W.3d 132 (Mo. Ct. App. 2024). “§ 288.120; Boyd, 687 S.W.3d at 47. We are “not bound by the Commission’s legal conclusions or application of law, which we review de novo, but we defer to the Commission’s factual findings, so long as they are supported by competent and substantial evidence in the record.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.