No. 25-828October Term 2025Petition PendingUpdated Sep 15, 2026
Minimum wage for detainees
The GEO Group v. Nwauzor
Case status
Where it stands
Awaiting an order on the petition
- Next
- No decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.
What it's about
GEO Group has asked the Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit case involving Washington’s application of its minimum-wage law to immigration detainees who voluntarily participate in a federally required work program at an ICE detention facility operated by GEO. GEO argues that the Supremacy Clause prevents the state from treating those detainees as employees; the petition remains pending.
Question presented
Whether the Supremacy Clause allows a state to reclassify federal immigration detainees participating in a federal work program as employees and thereby impose its state minimum-wage law just because a private contractor provides detention services at the federal facility where the detainees are housed?
Timeline
Briefing
What it's about
GEO Group has asked the Supreme Court to review whether Washington may apply its minimum-wage law to immigration detainees in a federal work program at a GEO-operated ICE facility. The petition for review is pending, and the Court has not made a merits decision.
Argument
No oral argument is scheduled. GEO argues that the Supremacy Clause bars Washington from treating detainees in the federal work program as employees under state minimum-wage law.
Impact
The case could determine whether a state may classify federal immigration detainees in this program as employees for purposes of its minimum-wage law. That question remains unresolved at the Supreme Court.
What's next
The petition was distributed for the Court's May 14, 2026, conference. The Court must decide whether to grant review; the distribution does not guarantee an order date or a grant.
What is GEO Group asking the Supreme Court to do?
GEO Group seeks Supreme Court review of the Ninth Circuit case involving Washington's minimum-wage law and detainees in a federal work program.
What legal question does GEO Group v. Nwauzor raise?
It asks whether the Supremacy Clause prevents Washington from classifying federal immigration detainees as employees because GEO operates the detention facility.
Did the Supreme Court decide GEO Group v. Nwauzor?
No. The petition remains pending, and no Supreme Court merits decision is available.
When could the Court consider GEO Group's petition?
The petition was distributed for the Court's May 14, 2026, conference. That scheduling step does not promise a decision date.
Documents
Activity
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
Brief added: Petition
Court Order added: Lower Court Orders/Opinions
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Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.