Mobile cannot set a local minimum wage above Alabama's default. Alabama Code 11-80-11 preempts city wage floors, leaving the federal $7.25 hourly minimum as the operative rate citywide.
Alabama Code Section 11-80-11, enacted in 2016, blocks Alabama cities from setting a minimum wage above the federal floor. Alabama itself has no state minimum wage, so the federal Fair Labor Standards Act rate of $7.25 per hour applies in Mobile. Birmingham's earlier attempt to enact a $10.10 city minimum was struck down under this preemption law, and federal courts upheld the state preemption against constitutional challenges. Mobile employers follow federal FLSA rules including overtime, tipped-employee credit, and youth wage provisions.
Paying below the federal $7.25 floor, mishandling overtime, or violating tipped-employee rules risks Department of Labor enforcement, back-wage liability, and double damages under FLSA.
See how Mobile's minimum wage preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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