State Question to Raise Minimum Wage is Blatantly Unconstitutional
OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 31, 2024) – This morning, in front of the Oklahoma State Supreme Court, The State Chamber of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau challenged the constitutionality of the proposal to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage.
State Question 832 seeks to amend the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act in Oklahoma statutes by untying the state from the federal minimum wage. If approved, it would more than double Oklahoma’s state-mandated minimum wage over the next few years. Beginning in 2030, the wage will increase with the cost of living, as measured by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
“I think the Court today got a really clear explanation from our team about what our problems with the state question are. We think it’s blatantly unconstitutional. You can’t delegate the authority to raise the minimum wage away to an unelected and unaccountable federal agency,” said Chad Warmington, president and CEO of The State Chamber.
“The Court asked some good questions, and I think our counsel did a good job of making the case. Beyond its unconstitutionality, SQ832 is an unnecessary solution in search of a problem that doesn’t exist in Oklahoma. The market rate for an hourly job in Oklahoma is far above $7.25,” said Warmington. “All the businesses that we have as members are having trouble finding people. They are paying far above that wage.
“The wage being paid isn’t the problem. We need to give more Oklahomans opportunities to upskill into the many available, high-paying jobs Oklahoma businesses have already created,” said Warmington. “There are thousands of good jobs paying far more than minimum wage but we don’t have enough personnel with those talents to fill the jobs. We’d like to focus more on developing and ensuring that Oklahomans have access to the education, training, and certifications that they need to fill the thousands of jobs that pay far more than minimum wage. That’s the problem that we ought to be seeking solutions together on. “
Media Contact: Brent Skarky – brent@okstatechamber.com, (405) 818-1939
