A federal appeals court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case about Birmingham's minimum wage increase.
The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will hold hearing with a full panel of judges to hear arguments in the case of the Magic City’s minimum wage increase, which the Alabama Legislature blocked in 2016. The law blocked cities from setting their own minimum wages that year, just in time to block the Birmingham City Council’s decision to set a minimum wage of $10.10 an hour.
The Legislative Black Caucus, which is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, opposed the bill and filed the suit soon after.
An attorney for several fast-food workers, black lawmakers, and civil rights groups argued to a three-judge panel from the appeals court in April 2018 to reinstate their lawsuit challenging the state blocking a minimum wage increase in Birmingham. Their lawsuit makes several claims, including that the state law is racially discriminatory and violates equal protection.
U.S. District Judge David Proctor dismissed the case in 2017, writing there were “fatal flaws” in the plaintiffs’ reasoning. The plaintiffs appealed Proctor’s decision and last summer argued before a three-member panel of the 11th Circuit. Then, the appeals court reversed part of the dismissal order and sent part of the lawsuit back to district court.
The appeals court said in its opinion last year that, while they partially agreed with Proctor's ruling, one of the lawsuit's claims shouldn't have been dismissed. "The plaintiffs have stated a plausible claim that the Minimum Wage Act had the purpose and effect of depriving Birmingham's black citizens equal economic opportunities on the basis of race, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," the opinion said.
The 11th Circuit later granted a request by Alabama for a rehearing before the full panel of judges.
The hearing will take place at the court’s Atlanta courtroom Tuesday morning.