MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama senator has filed a bill to create a state minimum wage of $10 an hour for many workers, marking one of the most aggressive pushes in years to lift pay in a state that has long defaulted to the federal wage floor.
Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, introduced Senate Bill 171 in the opening days of the 2026 regular session, proposing a statewide minimum wage that would take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Alabama is one of a handful of states without its own minimum wage law, meaning most workers are currently paid under the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.
The measure would set the state minimum at $10 an hour and require most covered employers to pay at least that amount to their employees. The bill also specifically exempts small businesses, meaning many very small employers would not be subject to the new wage mandate under the proposed law.
Supporters say raising the wage floor would help low-paid workers keep up with rising housing, food and health care costs after more than a decade without a federal increase. Alabama’s reliance on the federal minimum has left many full-time workers earning annual incomes that hover near or below the poverty line, particularly in urban centers like Birmingham where living costs are higher than in rural parts of the state.
Business lobbyists and conservative lawmakers have traditionally opposed statewide increases, arguing that higher mandated wages could pressure employers’ labor costs and reduce hiring. By carving out small businesses, Stewart’s bill attempts to shield the smallest employers while requiring larger companies with greater resources to raise their base pay.
SB171 has been assigned to the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee, where it will receive its first public vetting in the coming weeks. Even if it clears the Senate, the proposal faces a Republican-dominated Legislature that has previously preempted local efforts — including a Birmingham ordinance in 2016 — to set higher minimum wages.
For Birmingham’s low-wage workforce, the debate could determine whether the state continues to rely on a $7.25 federal standard set in 2009 or joins the growing number of states that have moved toward higher minimums in recent years.