Justices Cement Biden’s $15 Federal Contractor Wage Rule for Now

The US Supreme Court declined to examine whether President Joe Biden acted within his authority to issue a $15 minimum wage for federal contractors, a legal issue on which federal appellate courts are divided.

Arkansas Valley Adventure LLC, the company’s owner, and the Colorado River Outfitters Association failed to convince the high court Monday to determine if the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit correctly found the wage order to be valid.

The justices’ move is a win for the outgoing Biden administration that insisted the president’s 2021 wage order fell within his authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act in enabling him to set rigorous criteria for federal contracts. The DOL subsequently issued rulemaking to implement the policy, triggering lawsuits that have yielded split decisions from federal appeals courts.

The Ninth Circuit held in November 2024 that Biden lacked the authority for the minimum wage mandate and that DOL’s subsequent rulemaking didn’t follow the required public notice and comment period.

A third case challenging the minimum wage mandate is pending at the Fifth Circuit.

The businesses in the Supreme Court case argued that review is warranted because presidential authority under federal procurement law is aimed at efficiency in government, not policymaking.

“The legal problem the mandate creates is straightforward: the Procurement Act simply does not authorize the President to impose a minimum wage on federal contractors, let alone permittees like AVA who merely operate on federal land,” the petition said.

“The Tenth Circuit’s decision to the contrary represents a massive expansion of the President’s power under the Act” as a freestanding power to regulate the operations of any business with whom the federal government deals,” it added.

Pacific Legal Foundation represented the plaintiffs. The Department of Justice represented the government.

The case is Bradford v. US Dep’t of Labor, U.S., No. 24-232, 1/13/25.