Raise the Wage Act

II Calendar No. 156 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 582 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 18, 2019 Received; read the first time JULY 22, 2019 Read the second time and placed on the calendar AN ACT To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Raise the Wage Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor 6 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) is amended 7 to read as follows: 8 ‘‘(1) except as otherwise provided in this sec- 9 tion, not less than— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 582 PCS ‘‘(A) $8.40 an hour, beginning on the ef- 1 fective date under section 7 of the Raise the 2 Wage Act; 3 ‘‘(B) $9.50 an hour, beginning 1 year after 4 such effective date; 5 ‘‘(C) $10.60 an hour, beginning 2 years 6 after such effective date; 7 ‘‘(D) $11.70 an hour, beginning 3 years 8 after such effective date; 9 ‘‘(E) $12.80 an hour, beginning 4 years 10 after such effective date; 11 ‘‘(F) $13.90 an hour, beginning 5 years 12 after such effective date; 13 ‘‘(G) $15.00 an hour, beginning 6 years 14 after such effective date; and 15 ‘‘(H) beginning on the date that is 7 years 16 after such effective date, and annually there- 17 after, the amount determined by the Secretary 18 under subsection (h);’’. 19 (b) DETERMINATION BASED ON INCREASE IN THE 20 MEDIAN HOURLY WAGE OF ALL EMPLOYEES.—Section 21 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 22 206) is amended by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(h)(1) Not later than each date that is 90 days be- 24 fore a new minimum wage determined under subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 582 PCS (a)(1)(H) is to take effect, the Secretary shall determine 1 the minimum wage to be in effect under this subsection 2 for each period described in subsection (a)(1)(H). The 3 wage determined under this subsection for a year shall 4 be— 5 ‘‘(A) not less than the amount in effect under 6 subsection (a)(1) on the date of such determination; 7 ‘‘(B) increased from such amount by the annual 8 percentage increase, if any, in the median hourly 9 wage of all employees as determined by the Bureau 10 of Labor Statistics; and 11 ‘‘(C) rounded up to the nearest multiple of 12 $0.05. 13 ‘‘(2) In calculating the annual percentage increase in 14 the median hourly wage of all employees for purposes of 15 paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary, through the Bureau of 16 Labor Statistics, shall compile data on the hourly wages 17 of all employees to determine such a median hourly wage 18 and compare such median hourly wage for the most recent 19 year for which data are available with the median hourly 20 wage determined for the preceding year.’’. 21 SEC. 3. TIPPED EMPLOYEES. 22 (a) BASE MINIMUM WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOYEES 23 AND TIPS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEES.—Section 24 3(m)(2)(A)(i) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 582 PCS (29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(A)(i)) is amended to read as fol- 1 lows: 2 ‘‘(i) the cash wage paid such employee, which 3 for purposes of such determination shall be not less 4 than— 5 ‘‘(I) for the 1-year period beginning on the 6 effective date under section 7 of the Raise the 7 Wage Act, $3.60 an hour; 8 ‘‘(II) for each succeeding 1-year period 9 until the hourly wage under this clause equals 10 the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1) for 11 such period, an hourly wage equal to the 12 amount determined under this clause for the 13 preceding year, increased by the lesser of— 14 ‘‘(aa) $1.50; or 15 ‘‘(bb) the amount necessary for the 16 wage in effect under this clause to equal 17 the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1) for 18 such period, rounded up to the nearest 19 multiple of $0.05; and 20 ‘‘(III) for each succeeding 1-year period 21 after the increase made pursuant to subclause 22 (II), the minimum wage in effect under section 23 6(a)(1); and’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 582 PCS (b) TIPS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEES.—Section 1 3(m)(2)(A) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 2 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(A)) is amended— 3 (1) in the second sentence of the matter fol- 4 lowing clause (ii), by striking ‘‘of this subsection, 5 and all tips received by such employee have been re- 6 tained by the employee’’ and inserting ‘‘of this sub- 7 section. Any employee shall have the right to retain 8 any tips received by such employee’’; and 9 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘An em- 10 ployer shall inform each employee of the right and 11 exception provided under the preceding sentence.’’. 12 (c) SCHEDULED REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM 13 WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOYEES.— 14 (1) TIPPED EMPLOYEES.—Section 3(m)(2)(A) 15 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 16 203(m)(2)(A)), as amended by subsections (a) and 17 (b), is further amended by striking the sentence be- 18 ginning with ‘‘In determining the wage an employer 19 is required to pay a tipped employee,’’ and all that 20 follows through ‘‘of this subsection.’’ and inserting 21 ‘‘The wage required to be paid to a tipped employee 22 shall be the wage set forth in section 6(a)(1).’’. 23 (2) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Subsection (i) 24 of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 582 PCS 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206), as amended by section 5, is 1 further amended by striking ‘‘or in accordance with 2 subclause (II) or (III) of section 3(m)(2)(A)(i)’’. 3 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 4 by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take effect on the 5 date that is 1 day after the date on which the hourly 6 wage under subclause (III) of section 3(m)(2)(A)(i) 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 8 203(m)(2)(A)(i)), as amended by subsection (a), 9 takes effect. 10 SEC. 4. NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES WHO ARE LESS THAN 20 11 YEARS OLD. 12 (a) BASE MINIMUM WAGE FOR NEWLY HIRED EM- 13 PLOYEES WHO ARE LESS THAN 20 YEARS OLD.—Section 14 6(g)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 15 U.S.C. 206(g)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘a wage which 16 is not less than $4.25 an hour.’’ and inserting the fol- 17 lowing: ‘‘a wage at a rate that is not less than— 18 ‘‘(A) for the 1-year period beginning on the ef- 19 fective date under section 7 of the Raise the Wage 20 Act, $5.50 an hour; 21 ‘‘(B) for each succeeding 1-year period until the 22 hourly wage under this paragraph equals the wage 23 in effect under section 6(a)(1) for such period, an 24 hourly wage equal to the amount determined under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 582 PCS this paragraph for the preceding year, increased by 1 the lesser of— 2 ‘‘(i) $1.25; or 3 ‘‘(ii) the amount necessary for the wage in 4 effect under this paragraph to equal the wage 5 in effect under section 6(a)(1) for such period, 6 rounded up to the nearest multiple of $0.05; 7 and 8 ‘‘(C) for each succeeding 1-year period after the 9 increase made pursuant to subparagraph (B)(ii), the 10 minimum wage in effect under section 6(a)(1).’’. 11 (b) SCHEDULED REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM 12 WAGE FOR NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES WHO ARE LESS 13 THAN 20 YEARS OLD.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(g) of the Fair 15 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(g)), as 16 amended by subsection (a), shall be repealed. 17 (2) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Subsection (i) 18 of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 19 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206), as amended by section 20 3(c)(2), is further amended by striking ‘‘or subpara- 21 graph (B) or (C) of subsection (g)(1),’’. 22 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeal and amend- 23 ment made by paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, 24 shall take effect on the date that is 1 day after the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 582 PCS date on which the hourly wage under subparagraph 1 (C) of section 6(g)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards 2 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(g)(1)), as amended by 3 subsection (a), takes effect. 4 SEC. 5. PUBLICATION OF NOTICE. 5 Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 6 (29 U.S.C. 206), as amended by the preceding sections, 7 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(i) Not later than 60 days prior to the effective date 9 of any increase in the required wage determined under 10 subsection (a)(1) or subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection 11 (g)(1), or in accordance with subclause (II) or (III) of sec- 12 tion 3(m)(2)(A)(i) or section 14(c)(1)(A), the Secretary 13 shall publish in the Federal Register and on the website 14 of the Department of Labor a notice announcing each in- 15 crease in such required wage.’’. 16 SEC. 6. PROMOTING ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY FOR IN- 17 DIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 18 (a) WAGES.— 19 (1) TRANSITION TO FAIR WAGES FOR INDIVID- 20 UALS WITH DISABILITIES.—Subparagraph (A) of 21 section 14(c)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 22 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)(1)) is amended to read as 23 follows: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 582 PCS ‘‘(A) at a rate that equals, or exceeds, for each 1 year, the greater of— 2 ‘‘(i)(I) $4.25 an hour, beginning 1 year 3 after the date the wage rate specified in section 4 6(a)(1)(A) takes effect; 5 ‘‘(II) $6.40 an hour, beginning 2 years 6 after such date; 7 ‘‘(III) $8.55 an hour, beginning 3 years 8 after such date; 9 ‘‘(IV) $10.70 an hour, beginning 4 years 10 after such date; 11 ‘‘(V) $12.85 an hour, beginning 5 years 12 after such date; and 13 ‘‘(VI) the wage rate in effect under section 14 6(a)(1), on the date that is 6 years after the 15 date the wage specified in section 6(a)(1)(A) 16 takes effect; or 17 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, the wage rate in effect 18 on the day before the date of enactment of the 19 Raise the Wage Act for the employment, under 20 a special certificate issued under this para- 21 graph, of the individual for whom the wage rate 22 is being determined under this subparagraph,’’. 23 (2) PROHIBITION ON NEW SPECIAL CERTIFI- 24 CATES; SUNSET.—Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 582 PCS Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)) (as 1 amended by paragraph (1)) is further amended by 2 adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITION ON NEW SPECIAL CERTIFI- 4 CATES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Sec- 5 retary shall not issue a special certificate under this 6 subsection to an employer that was not issued a spe- 7 cial certificate under this subsection before the date 8 of enactment of the Raise the Wage Act. 9 ‘‘(7) SUNSET.—Beginning on the day after the 10 date on which the wage rate described in paragraph 11 (1)(A)(i)(VI) takes effect, the authority to issue spe- 12 cial certificates under paragraph (1) shall expire, 13 and no special certificates issued under paragraph 14 (1) shall have any legal effect. 15 ‘‘(8) TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.—Upon request, 16 the Secretary shall provide— 17 ‘‘(A) technical assistance and information 18 to employers issued a special certificate under 19 this subsection for the purposes of— 20 ‘‘(i) transitioning the practices of such 21 employers to comply with this subsection, 22 as amended by the Raise the Wage Act; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 582 PCS ‘‘(ii) ensuring continuing employment 1 opportunities for individuals with disabil- 2 ities receiving a special minimum wage 3 rate under this subsection; and 4 ‘‘(B) information to individuals employed 5 at a special minimum wage rate under this sub- 6 section, which may include referrals to Federal 7 or State entities with expertise in competitive 8 integrated employment.’’. 9 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 10 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of en- 11 actment of this Act. 12 (b) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.— 13 (1) AMENDMENT.—Subsection (i) of section 6 14 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 15 206), as amended by section 4(b)(2), is further 16 amended by striking ‘‘or section 14(c)(1)(A),’’. 17 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 18 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the day after 19 the date on which the wage rate described in para- 20 graph (1)(A)(i)(VI) of section 14(c) of the Fair 21 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)), as 22 amended by subsection (a)(1), takes effect. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:44 Jul 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H582.PCS H582 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 582 PCS SEC. 7. GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE. 1 Except as otherwise provided in this Act or the 2 amendments made by this Act, this Act and the amend- 3 ments made by this Act shall take effect— 4 (1) subject to paragraph (2), on the first day 5 of the third month that begins after the date of en- 6 actment of this Act; and 7 (2) with respect to the Commonwealth of the 8 Northern Mariana Islands, on the date that is 18 9 months after the effective date described in para- 10 graph (1). 11 SEC. 8. GAO REPORT ON THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE 12 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 13 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 14 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 15 Education and Labor Committee of the House of Rep- 16 resentatives and the Committee on Health, Education, 17 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report that, with re- 18 spect to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 19 lands— 20 (1) assesses the status and structure of the 21 economy (including employment, earnings and 22 wages, and key industries); and 23 (2) for each year in which a wage increase will 24 take effect under subsect [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]