Minimum Wage Preemption: Bessemer vs Birmingham
How do minimum wage preemption rules compare between Bessemer, AL and Birmingham, AL?
Bessemer and Birmingham have similar restriction levels.
Bessemer, AL
Jefferson County
Alabama Code Section 11-43-26 preempts cities and counties from setting local minimum wage rates, leaving the federal minimum wage as the floor statewide.
View full Bessemer rules →Birmingham, AL
Jefferson County
Birmingham cannot set its own minimum wage. Ala. Code § 25-7-41 (the 2016 Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act) preempted local wage ordinances and explicitly nullified Birmingham's 2015 ordinance raising the wage to $10.10/hour. Alabama has no state minimum wage of its own, so the federal FLSA $7.25/hour controls. Tipped wage: $2.13/hour cash + tips.
View full Birmingham rules →Key Facts Comparison
| Fact | Bessemer | Birmingham |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | |
| State Minimum Wage | - | None (FLSA $7.25 applies) |
| Tipped Wage | - | $2.13/hr cash + tips = $7.25 |
| Preemption Statute | - | Ala. Code § 25-7-41 (Act 2016-18) |
| Struck-Down Ordinance | - | Birmingham Ord. 15-110 ($10.10/hr) |
| Key Case | - | Lewis v. Governor of Alabama (11th Cir. 2019) |
Highlighted rows indicate differences between cities.
Bessemer FAQ
Can Alabama cities set a higher minimum wage?
No. Code Section 11-43-26 preempts local minimum wage ordinances, keeping the federal rate as the floor.
Does Alabama have its own state minimum wage?
No, Alabama lacks a state minimum wage statute and defaults to the federal 7.25 dollar hourly rate.
Birmingham FAQ
Does Birmingham have its own $10/hour minimum wage?
No. Birmingham passed an ordinance in 2015 raising the wage to $10.10/hour, but Alabama's 2016 Uniform Minimum Wage Act (Ala. Code § 25-7-41) nullified it before it took effect. The federal $7.25/hour FLSA rate applies.
Can Birmingham re-pass its $10.10 minimum wage?
No. Ala. Code § 25-7-41 explicitly preempts any local minimum wage above the state/federal rate. The Eleventh Circuit upheld the preemption against constitutional challenge in Lewis v. Governor of Alabama (2019).
What is the tipped minimum wage in Birmingham?
$2.13/hour cash wage under the federal FLSA tip credit (29 U.S.C. § 203(m)), provided tips bring the worker to the $7.25 federal floor.
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