Lawmakers Sue Their Colleagues For Blocking A Local Minimum Wage Hike

A group of African-American state lawmakers in Alabama sued their colleagues in federal court on Thursday, claiming they violated civil rights law by blocking a minimum wage increase in Birmingham.

The Birmingham City Council passed a measure earlier this year that would have raised the city's wage floor from $7.25 to $10.10. In a move that's become common in Republican-controlled states, Alabama's state legislators rushed to pass a so-called pre-emption law barring cities from hiking the minimum wage. The state law effectively scuttled Birmingham's local law.