Bradford v. U.S. Department of Labor

**Bradford v. U.S. Department of Labor: Court Upholds $15 Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors** This case involved a challenge to the Department of Labor's rule requiring federal contractors to pay workers at least $15 per hour. A group called Bradford and others sued, arguing that the Department didn't have the legal authority to create this wage requirement and that the rule was unreasonable. The plaintiffs asked the court to temporarily block the $15 minimum wage rule while their lawsuit proceeded. However, both a lower court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected this request. The appeals court ruled that Bradford and the other challengers were unlikely to win their case. The court found that the Department of Labor did have the authority to set this wage requirement and that the rule was not arbitrary or unreasonable. **What this means for workers:** This decision is significant because it allows the $15 minimum wage requirement for federal contract workers to remain in effect. Workers employed by companies that have contracts with the federal government will continue to receive at least $15 per hour. The ruling strengthens the government's ability to set wage standards for businesses that work with federal agencies, potentially benefiting hundreds of thousands of contract workers nationwide.