Mealey's ( March 8, 2023, 12:59 PM EST) -- SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 7 issued two orders in a minimum wage class lawsuit where federal immigration detainees were awarded $17 million in back pay, one certifying several questions concerning the Washington Minimum Wage Act (WMWA) to the Washington Supreme Court and one inviting the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to submit an amicus curiae brief addressing its views on the constitutional defenses raised by GEO Group Inc., the owner and operator of the detention facility....