 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(March 2021) |
 | |
| Long title | To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage, and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Announced in | the 118th United States Congress |
| Number of co-sponsors | 168 |
| Legislative history | |
| |
The Raise the Wage Act is a proposed United States law that would increase the federal minimum wage to US$17. [3] [4] Versions of the bill have been introduced in each United States Congress since 2017.
The minimum wage in the United States is set by U.S. labor law and a range of state and local laws. The first federal minimum wage was created as part of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but declared unconstitutional. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act established it at $0.25 an hour ($5.19 in 2022 dollars). Its purchasing power peaked in 1968 at $1.60 ($13.46 in 2022 dollars). [1] The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 has set the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour since 2009. The real value of the federal minimum wage in 2022 dollars has decreased by 46% since its inflation-adjusted peak in February 1968.
The most recently introduced bill would gradually increase the minimum wage over the 5 years following the bill's passage and ultimately eliminate sub-minimum wages for tipped, disabled, and youth workers. [3] Additionally, once wages reach $17.00/hr, the minimum wage will be pegged to median wage growth so as to prevent the value of the minimum wage from decreasing.
| Effective Date | New Minimum Wage |
|---|---|
| The next year on January 1 | $9.50 |
| 1 year later | $11.00 |
| 2 years later | $12.50 |
| 3 years later | $14.00 |
| 4 years later | $15.50 |
| 5 years later | $17.00 |
| Effective Date | New Minimum Wage |
|---|---|
| The next year on January 1 | $5.00 |
| 1 year later | $7.50 |
| 2 years later | $10.00 |
| 3 years later | $12.50 |
| 4 years later | $15.50 |
| 5 years later | $17.00 |
| Effective Date | New Minimum Wage |
|---|---|
| The next year on January 1 | $6.00 |
| 1 year later | $8.00 |
| 2 years later | $10.00 |
| 3 years later | $12.00 |
| 4 years later | $13.50 |
| 5 years later | $15.00 |
| 6 years later | $17.00 |
| Effective Date | New Minimum Wage |
|---|---|
| The next year on January 1 | $6.00 |
| 1 year later | $7.75 |
| 2 years later | $9.50 |
| 3 years later | $11.25 |
| 4 years later | $13.50 |
| 5 years later | $13.00 |
| 6 years later | $16.50 |
| 7 years later | $17.00 |
As of April 18, 2024:
| Congress | Short title | Bill number(s) | Date introduced | Sponsor(s) | # of cosponsors | Latest status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115th Congress | Raise the Wage Act | H.R. 15 | May 25, 2017 | Bobby Scott (D-VA) | 171 | Died in committee |
| S. 1242 | May 25, 2017 | Bernie Sanders (D-VT) | 31 | Died in committee | ||
| 116th Congress | Raise the Wage Act | H.R. 582 | January 16, 2019 | Bobby Scott (D-VA) | 205 | Passed the House |
| S. 150 | January 16, 2019 | Bernie Sanders (D-VT) | 32 | Died in committee | ||
| 117th Congress | Raise the Wage Act of 2021 | H.R. 603 | January 28, 2021 | Bobby Scott (D-VA) | 202 | Died in committee |
| S. 53 | January 26, 2021 | Bernie Sanders (D-VT) | 37 | Died in committee | ||
| 118th Congress | Raise the Wage Act of 2023 | H.R.4889 | July 25, 2023 | Bobby Scott (D-VA) | 172 | Referred to Committees of Jurisdiction |
| S.2488 | July 25, 2023 | Bernie Sanders (D-VT) | 31 | Referred to Committees of Jurisdiction |
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Because minimum wages increase the cost of labor, companies often try to avoid minimum wage laws by using gig workers, by moving labor to locations with lower or nonexistent minimum wages, or by automating job functions. Minimum wage policies can vary significantly between countries or even within a country, with different regions, sectors, or age groups having their own minimum wage rates. These variations are often influenced by factors such as the cost of living, regional economic conditions, and industry-specific factors.
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 is a US Act of Congress that amended the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to gradually raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour. It was signed into law on May 25, 2007 as part of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007. The act raised the federal minimum wage in 3 increments: to $5.85 per hour 60 days after enactment, to $6.55 per hour a year later, and finally to $7.25 per hour two years later. In addition, the act provided for the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa to make the transition to the federal minimum wage on alternate timetables.
Minimum wage law is the body of law which prohibits employers from hiring employees or workers for less than a given hourly, daily or monthly minimum wage. More than 90% of all countries have some kind of minimum wage legislation.
In the United States, the minimum wage is set by U.S. labor law and a range of state and local laws. The first federal minimum wage was instituted in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but later found to be unconstitutional. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act established it at 25¢ an hour. Its purchasing power peaked in 1968, at $1.60. In 2009, Congress increased it to $7.25 per hour with the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.
In United States government contracting, a prevailing wage is defined as the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics within a particular area. This is usually the union wage.
The New York State Department of Labor is the department of the New York state government that enforces labor law and administers unemployment benefits.
The middle-class squeeze refers to negative trends in the standard of living and other conditions of the middle class of the population. Increases in wages fail to keep up with inflation for middle-income earners, leading to a relative decline in real wages, while at the same time, the phenomenon fails to have a similar effect on the top wage earners. People belonging to the middle class find that inflation in consumer goods and the housing market prevent them from maintaining a middle-class lifestyle, undermining aspirations of upward mobility.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 29 U.S.C. § 203 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and "time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppressive child labor". It applies to employees engaged in interstate commerce or employed by an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, unless the employer can claim an exemption from coverage. The Act was enacted by the 75th Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938.
The Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 is a United States federal law that establishes the requirement for paying the local prevailing wages on public works projects for laborers and mechanics. It applies to "contractors and subcontractors performing on federally funded or assisted contracts in excess of $2,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair of public buildings or public works".
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the United States Department of Labor is the federal office responsible for enforcing federal labor laws. The Division was formed with the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The Wage and Hour mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD protects over 144 million workers in more than 9.8 million establishments throughout the United States and its territories. The Wage and Hour Division enforces over 13 laws, most notably the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. In FY18, WHD recovered $304,000,000 in back wages for over 240,000 workers and followed up FY19, with a record-breaking $322,000,000 for over 300,000 workers.
Unemployment in the United States discusses the causes and measures of U.S. unemployment and strategies for reducing it. Job creation and unemployment are affected by factors such as economic conditions, global competition, education, automation, and demographics. These factors can affect the number of workers, the duration of unemployment, and wage levels.
Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. It can be conducted by employers in various ways, among them failing to pay overtime; violating minimum-wage laws; the misclassification of employees as independent contractors; illegal deductions in pay; forcing employees to work "off the clock"; not paying annual leave or holiday entitlements; or simply not paying an employee at all.
The tipped wage is base wage paid to an employee in the United States who receives a substantial portion of their compensation from tips. According to a common labor law provision referred to as a "tip credit", the employee must earn at least the state's minimum wage when tips and wages are combined or the employer is required to increase the wage to fulfill that threshold. This ensures that all tipped employees earn at least the minimum wage: significantly more than the tipped minimum wage.
The Fight for $15 is an American political movement advocating for the minimum wage to be raised to USD$15 per hour. The federal minimum wage was last set at $7.25 per hour in 2009. The movement has involved strikes by child care, home healthcare, airport, gas station, convenience store, and fast food workers for increased wages and the right to form a labor union. The "Fight for $15" movement started in 2012, in response to workers' inability to cover their costs on such a low salary, as well as the stressful work conditions of many of the service jobs which pay the minimum wage.
The Minimum Wage Fairness Act is a bill that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over the course of a two-year period. The bill was strongly supported by President Barack Obama and many of the Democratic Senators, but strongly opposed by Republicans in the Senate and House.
The phrase Reagan tax cuts refers to changes to the United States federal tax code passed during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. There were two major tax cuts: The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The tax cuts popularized the now infamous phrase "trickle-down economics" as it was primarily used as a moniker by opponents of the bill in order to degrade supply-side economics, the driving principle used to promote the tax cuts.
The economic policy of the first Donald Trump administration was characterized by the individual and corporate tax cuts, attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), trade protectionism, deregulation focused on the energy and financial sectors, and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initiative 77 was a voter-approved ballot initiative in Washington, D.C., to phase out the special minimum wage for tipped employees as part of the national Fight for $15 campaign. In the June 2018 primary election, D.C. voters approved Initiative 77 by a margin of 56% to 44%; however, the D.C. Council repealed the initiative in October before it could enter into force. In 2022, a nearly identical Initiative 82 was approved for the November 8, 2022 election.
The economic policy of the Joe Biden administration, colloquially known as Bidenomics, is characterized by relief measures and vaccination efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in infrastructure, and strengthening the social safety net, funded by tax increases on higher-income individuals and corporations. Other goals include increasing the national minimum wage and expanding worker training, narrowing income inequality, expanding access to affordable healthcare, and forgiveness of student loan debt. The March 2021 enactment of the American Rescue Plan to provide relief from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was the first major element of the policy. Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law in November 2021 and contains about $550 billion in additional investment. Biden also signed three major pieces of longer-term economic legislation to repair infrastructure like roads, bridges and water pipes, boost semiconductor investment, and expand green energy.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government .
 | This United States federal legislation article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |