Original Living American Wage (LAW) Act
Latest action · Apr 23, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 14, 2013
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Original Living American Wage (LAW) Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the federal minimum wage should, as a minimum, be adjusted every four years so that a person working for it may earn an annual income at least 15% higher than the federal poverty threshold for a family of two; (2) it should be set at a level high enough to allow two full-time minimum wage workers to earn an income above the national housing wage; and (3) Congress, any of the several states, the District of Columbia, any U.S. territories or possessions, any Indian tribe, or local or state government may establish a higher minimum wage requirement than that established in this Act.
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to at least the amount determined by the Secretary of Labor according to the formula prescribed by this Act beginning September 1, 2013.
Requires the Secretary to determine such minimum wage rate by June 1, 2013, and once every four years thereafter. Prohibits any adjustment if the determination would result in a minimum wage lower than the current one.
Requires the minimum wage so determined to be the minimum hourly wage sufficient for a person working for it 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to earn an annual income 15% higher than the federal poverty threshold for a two-person household, with one child under age 18, and living in the 48 contiguous states, as published for each such year by the Census Bureau.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 14, 2013 to Feb 6, 2013; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Jan 14, 2013 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Jan 14, 2013 |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Original | Jan 14, 2013 |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | Jan 14, 2013 |
| D-MI | John Conyers, Jr. | Original | Jan 14, 2013 |
| D-GA | John Lewis | Feb 4, 2013 | |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Feb 4, 2013 | |
| D-FL | Alan Grayson | Feb 6, 2013 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Jan 14, 2013 |
| Workforce Protections Subcommittee | Referred Apr 23, 2013 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 23, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
- Jan 14, 2013Introduced in House
- Jan 14, 2013Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H85.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 4839 | Original Living Wage Act of 2014 | Related bill | Nov 17, 2014 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation of the minimum wage based on the Federal poverty threshold for a family of 2, as determined by the Bureau of the Census.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Original Living American Wage (LAW) Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 14, 2013Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
