Group Sues to Try to Force Wisconsin to Raise Minimum Wage

Currently $7.25 per hour

A labor group in Wisconsin on Monday said it is suing Gov. Scott Walker to force him to raise the state's minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

The group, Wisconsin Jobs Now, said the rate is too low, citing a state law requiring that workers be paid a "living wage," or an amount with which they can pay for basic needs.

It accused Walker, a Republican running for re-election on Nov. 4, of relying on a study by a major campaign contributor opposing an increase, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, to justify keeping the minimum wage low.

"Gov. Walker has put the special interests over the needs of working families," Jennifer Epps-Addison, executive director of Wisconsin Jobs Now, said on a conference call with reporters.