The Raise the Wage Act is a proposed United States law that would increase the federal

minimum wage 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. Bec ...

to US$15. It has been introduced in each

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

since 2017.

Background

Federal Minimum Wage

The minimum wage in the United States is set by

U.S. labor law United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers in the United States. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the "inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "orga ...

and a range of state and local laws. The first federal

was created as part of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, signed into law by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, but declared unconstitutional. In 1938 the

Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (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 "oppres ...

established it at $0.25 an hour ($ in dollars). Its purchasing power peaked in 1968 at $1.60 ($ in dollars). The

Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 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 ...

has set the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour since 2009. The 2009 minimum wage would equate to roughly $ in dollars taking into account inflation.

Provisions

Minimum Wage Increases

The most recently introduced bill would gradually increase the minimum wage over the next 5 years as follows:

Tipped Employees

The bill raises the minimum wage to $4.95 an hour for tipped employees and their employers.

New Employees that are 20 years old or less

The bill raises the minimum wage to $6.00 an hour for newly hired employees who are 20 years older or less.

Legislative history

As of October 25, 2022:

References

External links

* {{US-fed-statute-stub Proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 116th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 117th United States Congress Minimum wage law