Press Release: Attorney General Labrador Announces Victory in Challenge to Federal Contractor Minimum Wage

By Press Release • November 7, 2024

The following press release was sent out by Attorney General Raul Labrador. Press releases do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.

[BOISE] – Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced a federal appellate victory Tuesday in Nebraska v. Su. The case, brought by Nebraska, Idaho, Indiana, and South Carolina, challenges the legality of the federal contractor minimum wage. That policy affects employers who employ one-fifth of the U.S. workforce. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with the plaintiff’s arguments, holding that the Biden Administration acted unlawfully and exceeded its statutory authority.

“Our victory is a clear win for the separation of powers and the Constitution,” said Attorney General Labrador. “Setting a federal minimum wage is the responsibility and purview of Congress alone. There is nothing in the Constitution that allows the President to create a minimum wage for federal contractors. We will continue to fight against these unlawful exercises of authority from the Biden-Harris Administration.”

Near the beginning of his term in office, President Biden imposed a nationwide $15 minimum wage on federal contractors. The policy relied on the same authority used by the Biden Administration to impose a federal contractor COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Nebraska v. Su is the first federal appellate court case to hold the federal contractor minimum wage invalid.

The court’s panel ruling can be read here.