H.R. 122 — Original LAW Act

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Original Living American Wage Act” or the “Original LAW Act.”

This section states congressional findings that, in 2022, approximately 37,900,000 Americans lived in poverty; that a full-time worker earning the Federal minimum wage earned $20 above the Federal poverty line for a single-person household and $5,360 below the poverty line for a two-person household; that the average fair market rent for a 1-bedroom apartment exceeded 110 percent of a full-time minimum-wage worker’s monthly income; that two full-time minimum-wage workers earned less than the national housing wage needed to afford a 1-bedroom apartment without spending more than 30 percent of income on housing; and that, in 2023, the median living wage across single adults and single adults with one child in all 50 States was $26.59 per hour, or approximately $48,154.49 annually. This section also expresses the sense of Congress that the Federal minimum wage should be adjusted whenever inflation rises to 5 percent or more over 2 consecutive years so that annual income is at least 40 percent above the Supplemental Poverty Threshold for a renting family of 4, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; that the minimum wage should be high enough for 2 full-time minimum-wage workers to earn more than the national housing wage; and that Congress, States, the District of Columbia, territories, possessions, Indian tribes, and local governments may establish a higher minimum wage than the Act requires.

This section revises the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage under 29 U.S.C. § 206 by replacing the current $7.25 hourly federal minimum wage with a series of scheduled increases to $10.59 an hour beginning January 1, 2026, $14.59 an hour beginning January 1, 2027, $18.59 an hour beginning January 1, 2028, $22.59 an hour beginning January 1, 2029, and $26.59 an hour beginning January 1, 2030, before setting the wage at an amount determined by the Secretary beginning January 1, 2031. Thus, the federal minimum wage would increase by $3.34 in 2026 and by $19.34 by 2030 relative to current law. This section also establishes a new indexing mechanism for the federal minimum wage beginning in 2031. As background, the Fair Labor Standards Act sets nationwide wage and hour standards for covered workers. Under the new subsection, not later than October 1, 2030, and every 7 years thereafter, the Secretary of Labor must determine the minimum wage using a formula that sets the hourly rate high enough for a worker employed 1,799 hours per year to earn annual income equal to 40 percent above the Federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renter family of 4 with 2 children under age 18, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the preceding year. The Secretary must publish each determined wage rate in the Federal Register by November 1 of the year in which the determination is made. The section also prohibits the Secretary from lowering the minimum wage if the formula would produce a rate below the wage already in effect.