Texas leads multi-state lawsuit against Biden administration for federal minimum wage hike
Paxton has now opened 21 lawsuits against the Biden administration
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm deliver remarks on the US electric vehicle charging network
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm deliver remarks on the US electric vehicle charging network.
Three states have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration for its unilateral minimum wage hike for federal agencies.
Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi have filed a lawsuit against Biden for increasing the minimum wage for any federal contractor to $15 per hour and overtime wages if employees work more than 40 hours per week. The Department of Labor also has the power to increase wages yearly.
"As inflation skyrockets and the economy lags thanks to this Administration’s policies, Joe Biden decides to wreck it further by drastically increasing the federal minimum wage by executive fiat," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told FOX Business. "I won’t let it happen. That’s why I’m suing him once again."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. President Joe Biden | Fox News
Paxton has taken issue with Biden on a wide range of issues, leading to 20 other lawsuits against the administration.
But he has taken a stand on the minimum wage issue as he believes it is another step in Biden’s "lawless, radical agenda."
"His unilateral minimum wage hike is unconstitutional and violates federal law," Paxton added. "Congress sets the minimum wage—not an out-of-control executive branch. My lawsuit, filed alongside Mississippi and Louisiana, seeks to halt the mandate."
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Paxton argued that Biden has no unilateral power to impose an increase on federal minimum wage: That power, he says, lies with Congress alone, which rejected the plan.
The wage hike will affect nearly 70,000 federal workers, most of whom work at the Departments of Defense, Agriculture, and Veteran Affairs, OPM said in a statement on Friday. The new minimum wage applies to all executive branch agencies, except the U.S. Postal Service and Postal Regulatory Commission.
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The rule comes after President Biden signed an executive order in April raising the minimum wage for federal contractors from $10.95 an hour. The minimum wage will continue to be indexed to inflation in the coming years so that the pay reflects changes in the cost of living.
FOX Business’s Megan Henney contributed to this report.