- A coalition of 19 AGs filed amicus curiae briefs in cases in Arizona, Texas, and Colorado supporting U.S. Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh, President Joseph R. Biden, Jessica Looman, Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, and the U.S. Department of Labor and its Wage and Hour Division, in lawsuits challenging the Biden Administration’s increase in the hourly minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 per hour.
- In their briefs, the AGs argue that the DOL’s determination to increase the minimum wage is supported by empirical data showing that the benefits of the increase outweigh the costs, and that the increase provides important benefits to employers, consumers, and employees. Further, they argue that the “major question doctrine”—which prohibits agency actions concerning “vast economic or political significance”—is not implicated, and that administrative procedures were properly followed in implementing the increase.
- The coalition urges the respective courts to grant defendants’ motion to dismiss and/or for summary judgment and deny plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction.