“To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section revises the federal minimum wage rates under Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—currently $7.25 an hour—to the following phased increases beginning on the effective date under section 7 of the Give America a Raise Act: (1) $10.00 an hour immediately; (2) $13.00 an hour, one year later; (3) $16.50 an hour, two years later; and (4) $20.00 an hour, three years later. The section further adds a new subsection (h) requiring the Secretary of Labor to determine and publish, 90 days in advance, annual minimum wage adjustments beginning four years after the effective date, equal to the prior year's rate increased by the greater of (A) the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers or (B) the annual percentage increase in gross domestic product (or unchanged if both show no increase), rounded up to the nearest $0.05. (Thus, the minimum wage will automatically rise with economic growth or inflation, whichever is higher, affecting approximately 1.3 million workers currently earning $7.25 an hour.)
This section revises the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) treatment of tipped employees (i.e., those customarily receiving over $30 per month in tips) by (1) phasing in the required cash minimum wage—which employers must pay before counting tips toward the full minimum wage—from $6.00 per hour on the effective date to $20.00 per hour beginning 6 years later, after which it equals the standard minimum wage under FLSA section 6(a)(1) (currently $2.13 per hour federally); (2) affirming tipped employees' right to retain all tips received (with no change to existing tip pooling among tipped employees) and requiring employers to inform employees of this right; (3) repealing the tip credit provision (i.e., no longer permitting tips to count toward the minimum wage) effective 1 day after the $20.00 cash wage takes effect, thus requiring full cash minimum wage payment to tipped employees thereafter; and (4) expanding civil penalties under FLSA section 16 to cover tips that are unlawfully "kept or used" (from "kept").
This section revises the subminimum wage rate for newly hired employees under 20 years old under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—which permits employers to pay such employees less than the general minimum wage during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment—from a flat $4.25 per hour to a phased schedule: $6.00 per hour for the first year after the effective date under section 7 of the Give America a Raise Act; for each succeeding year until matching the general minimum wage under FLSA section 6(a)(1), an increase of the lesser of $2.00 or the amount needed to match section 6(a)(1); and thereafter, the general minimum wage rate under section 6(a)(1). The section further repeals this subminimum wage provision and makes conforming amendments to FLSA section 6(i), effective one day after the youth wage rate reaches parity with the general minimum wage under section 6(a)(1).
This section requires the Secretary of Labor, not later than 60 days prior to the effective date of any increase, to publish in the Federal Register and on the Department of Labor website a notice announcing each increase in required wages under specified Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions (i.e., general minimum wage rates under subsection (a)(1), special minimum wages for newly incorporated territories under subsection (g)(1)(B) or (C), certain tipped minimum cash wage rates under section 3(m)(2)(A)(i)(II)-(VIII), or special minimum wages for workers with disabilities under section 14(c)(1)(A)(i)).
This section revises the special minimum wage authority under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (i.e., certificates allowing subminimum wages to employers of workers whose earning capacity is impaired by disability, based on productivity). (1) It replaces the prior wage standard in section 14(c)(1)(A) with a phased-in minimum of the greater of $5.00 per hour on the effective date under section 7 of this Act (increasing annually to $8.00, $11.00, $14.00, $17.00, $20.00, and the general minimum wage under section 6(a)(1) at six years) or the individual's prior certificate rate if higher. (2) Effective on enactment, it prohibits issuance of new special certificates and directs the Secretary of Labor to provide transition assistance—including technical aid to employers for compliance and continued employment opportunities, and information or referrals to workers. (3) It sunsets all special certificate authority after the six-year phase-in (with no legal effect thereafter). This section also amends the minimum wage notice requirement under new FLSA section 6(i) (as added by section 5), effective post-sunset, by striking the exception for section 14(c)(1)(A)(i) wages.