By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

The Eleventh Circuit has agreed to rehear en banc claims that an Alabama law mandating a uniform minimum wage throughout the state and preempting local laws had the purpose and effect of discriminating against Birmingham’s black citizens.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on January 30 granted rehearing en banc of—and accordingly vacated—a panel decision that found employees in Birmingham, Alabama, who alleged that the state’s Minimum Wage Act had the purpose and effect of discriminating against the city’s black citizens in violation of the Equal Protection Clause, stated a plausible claim. The panel’s July 2018 ruling, in Lewis v. Governor of Alabama, had reversed the dismissal of that claim by a district court.

The employees filed their lawsuit after Governor Robert Bentley signed the Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act, which mandated a uniform minimum wage throughout the state, currently sitting at $7.25 per hour, and preempting all local labor and employment regulation. The move came in response to a city ordinance raising the minimum wage to more than $10 per hour.

Dueling legislation. In April 2015, the Birmingham city council passed a resolution calling on the Alabama legislature to raise the minimum wage to $10 per hour. The legislature refused, so the city council adopted its own law to raise the minimum wage in two steps, first to $8.50 per hour and then to $10.10 in 2017.

A week later, a white state representative from a neighboring, mostly white community introduced a bill in the state house of representatives with the aim of quashing it. A second iteration of that bill progressed and ultimately won the approval of a majority of the House in February 2016 and quickly made its way to the Senate floor.

In the meantime, the Birmingham city council pushed forward with implementing its own minimum wage law and adopted a new ordinance that raised the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour immediately. One day after it went into effect, the Alabama Senate approved the Minimum Wage Act, which mandated a uniform minimum wage throughout the state, currently $7.25 per hour, and preempting all local labor and employment regulation.

No black senators or house members supported the Act. Governor Bentley signed it into law in less than two hours.

Black residents file suit. A few months later, the plaintiffs, Birmingham residents who earn less than $10.10 per hour, along with public interest groups, sued the state governor and attorney general, claiming racial discrimination under the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss and the plaintiffs appealed.

On the merits, the appeals court reversed the district court’s dismissal of the employees’ claim that the Minimum Wage Act purposely discriminated against the city’s black citizens. In order to prevail on this equal protection challenge, the plaintiffs were required to “prove both discriminatory impact and discriminatory intent or purpose.”

Discriminatory impact. Among the impact evidence cited by the court was that the Minimum Wage Act denied 37 percent of the city’s black wage workers a higher wage, compared to only 27 percent of white workers. This was in addition to the fact that black wage workers earn, on average, $1.41 less per hour than their white counterparts in the city and $2.12 less than their counterparts statewide. Thus, the court found it “plausible” that the Act would bear more heavily on black workers,

Other issues. There were other important issues in the case, including whether the Minimum Wage Act had an invidious purpose, whether the lower court recklessly used the “clearest proof” standard, standing to sue, and Eleventh Amendment immunity (see, “11th Cir.: Black employees get renewed chance to prove state minimum wage law was discriminatory,” July 25, 2018).

Congressional Democrats unveiled legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024.

How much the new salary standard can change the fortunes of workers in one of the most expensive cities on earth is now the million dollar question.

Twenty states have seen increases in the minimum wage in the new year—one, New York, actually began on December 31.

The minimum wage increases are scheduled as follows:

Alaska. The minimum wage in Alaska has increased from $9.84 per hour to $9.89 per hour on January 1, 2019.

Alaska’s minimum wage is adjusted annually based on inflation. The change for 2019 reflects a 0.5 percent increase in the cost of living.

Arizona. The minimum wage in Arizona was scheduled to increase to $11 per hour on January 1, 2019.

Arkansas. The minimum wage in Arkansas increased to $9.25 per hour on January 1 per voter approval of Ballot Issue No. 5 in the November 6, 2018, General Election.

California. The minimum wage in California was scheduled to increase on January 1 as follows: $12 per hour for large employers with 26 or more employees; $11 per hour for smaller employers with 25 or fewer employees.

Colorado. The Colorado minimum wage increased to $11.10 per hour on January 1, as part of a scheduled increase.

Delaware. The minimum wage has increased to $8.75 per hour on January 1, as part of a scheduled increase.

In addition, there will be a training wage for those over the age of 18 for the first 90 days of employment and a youth wage for those under the age of 18 at rates of not more than 50 cents less than the minimum wage.

Florida. The minimum wage in Florida has increased from $8.21 per hour to $8.46 per hour on January 1.

Florida’s minimum wage is adjusted annually based on inflation. The change for 2019 reflects a 2.59 percent increase in the cost of living (CPI South Region).

Maine. The minimum wage in Maine increased from $10 per hour to $11 per hour on January 1.

Massachusetts. The minimum wage in Massachusetts was scheduled to increase from $11 per hour to $12 per hour on January 1.

Michigan. The minimum wage increased to $9.45 in 2019, under the “Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act” (P.A. 337), as amended by Public Act 368 (S.B. 1171). Although S.B. 1171 has this increase scheduled for January 1, the effective date of the measures are on the 91st day after adjournment of the state legislature. This would possibly delay the increase until a tentative date of around March 21, 2019.

Minnesota. The minimum wage in Minnesota has increased from $9.65 per hour to $9.86 per hour for employees of large employers with gross revenues of $500,000 or more.

For employees of smaller employers, the minimum wage will increase from $7.87 per hour to $8.04 per hour. The Minnesota minimum wage is adjusted annually based on the rate of inflation. The change for 2019 reflects a 2.16 percent increase in the cost of living. However, a higher rate applies in the City of Minneapolis, where the minimum wage rate in is $11.25 per hour for employees of large employers with more than 100 employees and $10.25 per hour for employees of smaller employers with 100 or fewer employees, as of July 1.

Missouri. The minimum wage in Missouri increased to $8.60 per hour on January 1, per voter approval of Proposition B in the November 6, 2018, General Election. All private businesses are required to pay, at minimum, the $8.60 hourly rate, except retail and service businesses whose annual gross sales are less than $500,000.

Montana. The minimum wage increased from $8.30 per hour to $8.50 per hour on January 1, 2019.

New Jersey. The minimum wage in New Jersey has increased from $8.60 per hour to $8.85 per hour on January 1, 2019.

The minimum wage in New Jersey is adjusted annually based on inflation. The change for 2019 reflects a 2.88 percent increase in the cost of living.

New York. The minimum wage rates in New York were scheduled to increase on December 31, 2018, as follows: In New York City, $15 per hour for businesses with 11 or more employees and $13.50 per hour for businesses with 10 or fewer employees; in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, $12 per hour; and in the remainder of the state, $11.10 per hour. There are different hourly rates for workers in the fast food industry and those who receive tips.

Ohio. The minimum wage in Ohio has increased from $8.30 per hour to $8.55 per hour on January 1, 2019.

The 2019 minimum wage applies to employees of businesses with annual gross receipts of $314,000 or more per year. For employees at smaller companies with annual gross receipts of less than $314,000 per year after January 1, 2019, and for 14- and 15-year-olds, the state minimum wage rate is $7.25 per hour.

Rhode Island. The minimum wage in Rhode Island was scheduled to increase from $10.10 per hour to $10.50 per hour on January 1.

South Dakota. The minimum wage in South Dakota increased from $8.85 per hour to $9.10 per hour on January 1.

South Dakota’s minimum wage is adjusted annually based on inflation. The change for 2019 is based on a 2.7 percent increase in the cost of living.

Vermont. The minimum wage in Vermont increased to $10.78 per hour on January 1.

Washington. The minimum wage in Washington has increased from $11.50 per hour to $12 per hour on January 1, as part of a scheduled increase.

Washington’s minimum wage applies to workers in both agricultural and non-agricultural jobs. However, 14- and 15-year-olds may be paid 85 percent of the minimum wage rate.

The Mexican National Commission on Minimum Wages issued a resolution to increase the daily general minimum wage beginning on Jan. 1, 2019.

California’s minimum wage and many local wage rates will increase in 2019. Employers should check on each jurisdiction in which have employees to determine whether a higher minimum wage than the state minimum applies.

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 for a decade, but many states have a higher rate and some wage hikes will take effect this year. Here’s what employers need to know for 2019.

A six-year campaign that began with fast-food workers has taken off across the country.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed two bills that provide covered employees in the city with more scheduling certainty and higher wages.

New Zealand’s government is raising the minimum wage to NZD 17.70 (USD 12.13) per hour effective 1 April 2019, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment announced.

The New Zealand Herald reported the increase is the biggest in history and will benefit 210,000 people.

The increase is NZD 1.20 per hour more than the current minimum wage. In addition, the starting-out and training minimum wage rates will increase to NZD 14.16 (USD 9.70) per hour from NZD 13.20 per hour.

Indicative rates that could start 1 April 2021 were also set by the government at NZD 18.90 (USD 13.00) per hour. The indicative rates will be subject to each year’s annual review.