Federal Court to Hear Birmingham Minimum Wage Case
A federal appeals court in Atlanta is scheduled to hear arguments Friday in a case over Birmingham’s attempt to increase the minimum wage in the city to $10.10 an hour.
The Birmingham City Council approved a phased-in plan to boost the minimum wage in 2015. Then in 2016, the Alabama Legislature passed a law that voided the increase by prohibiting cities from setting their own minimum wage.
Fast food workers and other low-wage employees, the NAACP and other groups contested the legislature’s action in court. They said lawmakers’ actions were racially motivated because the Alabama legislature overturned the actions of a predominately black city council. At issue is whether the legislature violated the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection clause.
Lawyers say it could be several months before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issues a ruling.
Man sentenced to 30 years after police officer shot friend
Alabama’s felony murder law holds someone liable for murder if they participate in a felony that results in someone's death.
US ‘concerned’ by Mexican seizure of Alabama company’s port
Mexico’s seizure of the Caribbean cargo port stretched into its second week Tuesday. Vulcan Materials said that police and prosecutors still had not presented any legal paperwork to justify the seizure.
Proposed Ivey budgets: Income tax rebates; public money for charter schools; modest pay raises
Gov. Kay Ivey’s proposed budget for 2024 will call for state money for start-up charter schools, tax rebates for those who filed income taxes in 2021 and some pay raises for state employees.
Birmingham City Council delays BSC funding decision until at least mid-April
The struggling college is seeking $30 million from Alabama’s Education Trust Fund, as well as $5 million from Birmingham and $2.5 million from Jefferson County.
In the quest for new cancer treatments, researchers look to outer space
The Southern Research team is studying how bacteria reacts in the microgravity environment, and whether it prompts the development of novel cancer therapies.
BSC prez ‘disappointed’ legislature didn’t approve funding but will continue push to stay open
The Alabama Legislature opted not to spend some of the state’s $1 billion-plus allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act to keep the financially troubled liberal arts college open.
