An outdoor guide company and a trade association representing several such companies have filed suit challenging the authority of President Joe Biden through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to implement a federal minimum wage hike for federal contractors. This wage increase would extend to guides and outfitters on federal lands.
Duke Bradford, owner of Arkansas Valley Adventure LLC d/b/a AVA Rafting and Zipline, and the nonprofit trade group Colorado River Outfitters Association filed suit against the DOL after President Biden issued an executive order raising the federal minimum wage for federal contractors to $15.00. The minimum wage hike takes effect on January 30, 2022. The DOL finalized the rule in November 2021.
During the Trump administration, seasonal recreation workers on federal lands were exempt from the minimum wage requirements set for other federal contractors. Now, however, outfitters and guides leading trips will be subject to the minimum wage like other federal contractors.
Bradford and the trade group argue that their outfitters and guides should not be classified as federal contractors because, in their industry, they typically are paid a flat fee per trip rather than per hour. Since many trips last multiple days, outfitters and guides often work more than 40 hours in one week. As a result, the guides already receive wages that exceed minimum thresholds for current federal minimum wage and prevailing wages, including overtime. The plaintiffs argue that the groups would be unable to continue to operate under the new rule unless they eliminate some trips and raise the cost of services for some customers.
As part of their lawsuit, the plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction in a Colorado federal district court, seeking to stop the implementation of the DOL minimum wage increase for federal contractors on January 30, 2022. The plaintiffs argued that the injunction was appropriate because President Biden had exceeded his authority under the Procurement Act by displacing congressional action concerning federal contractors. However, the judge declined to put the injunction into place, stating: “The Biden Rule does not conflict with any statutes to which plaintiffs cite, and, therefore, it is not clear how the Biden Rule displaces any of them,” Bradford et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor et al., case number 1:21-cv-03283, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
Bradford and the trade association group now have appealed the district court judge’s denial of their injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
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