Raise the Wage Act
Latest action · Apr 30, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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.
- IntroducedApr 30, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Raise the Wage Act
This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $8.00 an hour on January 1, 2016, or, if later, on the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act; (2) $9.00 an hour after one year; (3) $10.00 an hour after two years; (4) $11.00 an hour after three years; (5) $12.00 an hour after four years; and (6) the amount the Secretary of Labor determines (based on increases in the median hourly wage of all employees) after five years, and annually thereafter.
The federal minimum wage for tipped employees shall increase to $3.15 an hour for one year on January 1, 2016, or the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act, whichever is later. Subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase, according to a specified formula, shall ensure that it remains equal to the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees.
Employers must notify their employees of the right to retain any received tips.
The separate minimum wage requirements for tipped employees shall end, effective one day after the hourly wage established for them under this Act takes effect.
The Secretary must publish any increase in the minimum wage in the Federal Register and on the Department of Labor's website 60 days before it takes effect.
Cosponsors 33
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 30, 2015 to Sep 8, 2015; 32 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Al Franken | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-MD | Barbara A. Mikulski | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-NV | Harry Reid | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-WA | Maria Cantwell | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-NM | Tom Udall | Original | Apr 30, 2015 |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Sep 8, 2015 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Apr 30, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 30, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Apr 30, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
In the Congressional Record 6
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S7049 | Patty Murray D-WA | Sep 30, 2015 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6345 | John Cornyn R-TX, Patty Murray D-WA | Aug 5, 2015 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6269 | Patty Murray D-WA | Aug 4, 2015 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S5000 | Sherrod Brown D-OH | Jul 13, 2015 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S2928 | Patrick J. Leahy D-VT | May 14, 2015 |
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.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R44667 | The Federal Minimum Wage: Indexation Archived | Report | Oct 26, 2016 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2150 | Raise the Wage Act | Identical bill | Nov 16, 2015 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Raise the Wage Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 30, 2015Introduced in Senate
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.
