In his “Statement on the National Industrial Recovery Act“, President Franklin Roosevelt (1933) outlined the main aim of minimum wages law as protecting the workers from exploitation: “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country” (par. 2). Since that time laws guiding the process of setting the lowest possible wages have become the essential part of American legislation. The minimum wage in the United States has risen from 25 cents to more than seven dollars during the last century, and many specialists predict its further growth. The minimum wage impacts hospitality industry significantly, as many of its employees belong to the group of low-wage workers. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the changes in minimum wages affect the industry based on the information provided by relevant literature sources. Such analysis will help to reveal how the laws defining the lowest possible wage influence all stakeholders of the industry, including the customers, the people involved in the provision of services, the organizations, etc. The knowledge about the investigated topic is vital for everyone planning to be or currently involved in working in the hospitality industry as being aware of the potential positive and negative consequences of changes in minimum wages is the key to putting efforts in adjusting to new conditions and preventing possible problems. History of Minimum Wages in the U.S. Till the 30s of the twentieth century, minimum wage laws were focused on protecting certain groups of the population (e.g. the state of Massachusetts introduced the standard minimum wages for children and female workers in 1912). The creation of International Labor Organization in 1919 stimulated the development of appropriate legislative norms protecting the workers across the globe from the violation of their right to earn not less than it is required for satisfying the minimum living needs. The first steps to setting the standards for minimal payment received by all members of the general workforce in the United States were made after the Great Depression. The first law defining the amount of the minimum wages every employer is obliged to pay to his/her employees was introduced in 1938 in the U.S. That time the minimum wage was set at 0,25 cents. Since that time, the amount has been continually growing, reaching 3 dollars in 1980, 5 dollars in 2000, and 7,25 in 2009. Many specialists in the U.S. claim that the minimum wage in the country does not keep pace with labor productivity, which serves as a proof of the fact that raising the minimum wage is a necessary step to providing the appropriate quality of life for the citizens. Current Laws The current federal minimum wage was set based on The Fair Minimum Age Act of 2007, and it implemented three increases, which elevated the minimum wage from 5,15 to 7,25 dollars. The last increase was introduced in 2009. U.S. Code provides the information on regulations on minimum wages in title 29, chapter 8, § 206. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires an employer to pay a tipped employee $2.13 an hour if that amount plus the tips equals the Federal minimum wage and sets the special minimum wage of $4.25 per hour for