State of Alabama Voids Birmingham Minimum Wage Ordinance

Posted on:

March 7, 2016

At a speed that rarely is seen in government action, the Birmingham City Council passed an ordinance raising the minimum wage from the federal limit of $7.25/hour to $10.10 within the city limits, to go into effect the following day, only to have it struck down by a vote of the Alabama state legislature one day later that immediately blocks all Alabama cities from setting their own minimum wage rates. Governor Robert Bentley signed the bill into law that day as well.

Whether legal challenges to the Alabama bill will be made is still unclear. However, Birmingham, Alabama employers can breathe a sigh of relief at not having to implement immediate pay raises and all the attendant administrative paperwork that goes along with a hike in pay.