Organizations Mentioned:Cooper & Kirk, PLLC | Gupta Wessler, PLLC | Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender | The Geo Group, Inc.
“Our colleague’s equation of the federal government and its contractors is contrary to long-settled black letter law.”
The Ninth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, has denied a petition for rehearing, or rehearing en banc, of a January 2025 decision finding that civil detainees in an ICE enforcement and processing center operated by The GEO Group, Inc., were entitled to the minimum wage under Washington law. In an opinion respecting denial of rehearing, Chief Judge Murguia and Judge Fletcher argued that the federal appeals court’s holding does not discriminate against the federal government vis-à-vis Washington state criminal detention centers because this case involves civil detainees held while their immigration status is determined. The two judges also rejected arguments that the detainees were not “employees” under the Washington Minimum Wage Act or that the state should treat federal contractors in the same manner it is required to treat the federal government itself. Judges Bumatay and Collins wrote separate dissents from the denial of rehearing en banc (Nwauzor v. The GEO Group, Inc., Nos. 21-36024 and 21-36025 (9th Cir. Aug. 13, 2025)).
Prior decision. Previously, the appeals court held, in a 2-1 decision, that the application of Washington’s Minimum Wage Act (MWA) to civil detainees held in GEO’s privately operated federal detention center in...
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal indictments against former National Security Adviser John Bolton and former FBI Director James Comey. Bolton faces 18 counts related to the allege...