The 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the decision of the lower court dismissing a lawsuit challenging an Alabama law banning local minimum wages. The Birmingham City Council approved a local minimum wage ordinance back in 2016 setting the minimum wage in the city at $10.10 per hour. In response, the state legislature passed the Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act, banning any local wage mandates above the federal wage of $7.25/hour. The City of Birmingham joined minimum wage fast food workers, civil rights groups and several black state legislators to challenge the law as an unconstitutional violation of the equal protection clause due to “racial animus” since a majority of the state legislature was white, while many of the minimum wage workers were minorities.  In its first go-round, a three-judge panel of the court found the challenge had merit on the discriminatory grounds and allowed the case to continue. The state Attorney General then asked for a re-hearing by the full circuit court and without considering the merits, the full court ruled the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the suit against the state’s Attorney General. We’ll have to wait to see next steps.