Arizona attorney general sues Biden administration over minimum wage increase

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is heading a coalition of five states suing President Joe Biden’s administration over what they say is an illegal minimum wage increase.

The Biden administration introduced a $15 minimum wage for federal contractors that expands overtime requirements for federal contractors last April. The increase, known as the Contractor Minimum Wage Mandate, applies to workers employed by one-fifth of the U.S. labor force, according to a press release issued by the Arizona attorney general’s office.

The attorney generals filed their lawsuit on Tuesday this week.

“President Biden always likes to get what he wants right away, with little patience for things like facts or the law,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said. “His minimum wage mandate is yet another example of attempted federal overreach that has become a pattern with this administration.”

The press release notes that the U.S. Senate rejected a $15 an hour minimum wage 42-58 last year. It alleges that the Contractor Minimum Wage Mandate violates the Procurement Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Brnovich said the Biden administration thinks the Procurement Act gives it the authority to implement the increase. However, the attorney generals argue that Biden doesn’t have the power to make it happen.

Arizona’s minimum wage as of Jan. 1, 2022, is $12.80. Biden’s executive order went into effect on Jan. 30, 2022, raising the minimum wage for some Arizona workers.

The defendants in this case include; the U.S. Department of Labor, the Wage & Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, President Joseph Biden, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and the Acting Administrator of the Wage & Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

In addition to Arizona, states involved with the lawsuit include: Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, and South Carolina.