Dive Brief:
- Two minority groups have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in Mobile, Ala., looking to overturn a state law that blocked Birmingham's minimum wage increase ordinance. Opponents say the law would disproportionately, and negatively, affect black residents, according to media reports.
- The Alabama NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries filed the suit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the law, HB 174, involves "racial animus" and violates the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, reports AL.com.
- A dispute between the Birmingham City Council and the Alabama Senate over the city's minimum wage ordinance caused the latter to pass the bill, which blocks cities from setting their own minimum wage. Despite efforts by the Mobile city council to boost minimum wage over time, the law ultimately voided the local ordinance, according to AL.com.
Dive Insight:
The plaintiffs in the case seek an injunction, but no monetary damages, prohibiting the state from enforcing the bill or preventing the increase from taking effect, and allowing the city ordinance to take effect immediately.
"Unfortunately this is the latest chapter in the long history of the state of Alabama where a white legislature overrides the authority of a majority-minority city council," Richard Rouco, a Birmingham attorney representing the plaintiffs, told AL.com.
Alabama is one of five states – all in the South – that have not set their own minimum wage. The minimum wage battle is being fought nationwide, as 29 states and at least 31 cities and counties have raised the wage floor above the federal standard. According to recent reports, places where the minimum wage has been raised above the federal level have had trouble verifying if employers are actually abiding by the new "living wage" laws.
