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Northam signs executive order to end Virginia’s Jim Crow era minimum wage exemptions

Posted at 12:54 PM, Jun 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-04 13:38:40-04

NORFOLK, Va. – Gov. Ralph Northam will sign an executive order during a ceremony on Tuesday that will eliminate Jim Crow era minimum wage laws.

Northam signed the executive order at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Norfolk and was part of the Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in Virginia Law looking into the issues with the laws on the book.

Officials say the leadership of Sen. Spruill and Delegate Marcia Price on Senate Bill 1079 and House Bill 2473 inspired the Commission’s creation and its mission to identify similar remainders of racially discriminatory language on Virginia’s books.

“Identifying the vestiges of racial discrimination that still remain in Virginia’s laws today is critical to the work before us to build a Commonwealth that is equitable for all who call it home,” said Gov. Ralph Northam. “The task before the Commission is significant and its efforts will help lay the groundwork for further progress.”

The full text of Executive Order Thirty-Two can be found by clicking here.

The Commission to Examine Racial Inequity is examining the Virginia Acts of AssemblyCode of Virginia, and administrative regulations. Their goal is to identify and make recommendations to address laws that were intended to or could have the effect of promoting or enabling racial discrimination or inequity, said Northam’s office.

The Commission will reportedly issue an interim report with its findings and recommendations no later than November 15, 2019.

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