Fifth Cir. Appears to Back Biden DOL on $15 Contractor Wage (1)

A federal appeals court in New Orleans questioned three GOP states’ request to uphold a partial block of President Joe Biden’s $15 minimum wage for federal contractors, appearing skeptical of their argument that federal procurement rules prohibited the wage boost.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit largely posed questions toward counsel representing Texas, which brought the suit along with Mississippi and Louisiana.

The state trio have argued that the $15 contractor wage, issued via an April 2021 executive order, went beyond the president’s authority under the Procurement Act. The Fifth Circuit is one ...