II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1242 

To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2017 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. 

BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

FRANKEN, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. NELSON, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Mr. SCHATZ, 

Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, 

Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. CARDIN, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Raise the Wage Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor 

3 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) is amended 

4 to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) except as otherwise provided in this sec6 tion, not less than— 

7 ‘‘(A) $9.25 an hour, beginning on the ef8 fective date under section 7 of the Raise the 

9 Wage Act; 

10 ‘‘(B) $10.10 an hour, beginning 1 year 

11 after such effective date; 

12 ‘‘(C) $11.00 an hour, beginning 2 years 

13 after such effective date; 

14 ‘‘(D) $12.00 an hour, beginning 3 years 

15 after such effective date; 

16 ‘‘(E) $13.00 an hour, beginning 4 years 

17 after such effective date; 

18 ‘‘(F) $13.50 an hour, beginning 5 years 

19 after such effective date; 

20 ‘‘(G) $14.25 an hour, beginning 6 years 

21 after such effective date; 

22 ‘‘(H) $15.00 an hour, beginning 7 years 

23 after such effective date; and 

24 ‘‘(I) beginning on the date that is 8 years 

25 after such effective date, and annually thereVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Jun 02, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1242.IS S1242

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1 after, the amount determined by the Secretary 

2 under subsection (h);’’. 

3 (b) DETERMINATION BASED ON INCREASE IN THE

4 MEDIAN HOURLY WAGE OF ALL EMPLOYEES.—Section 

5 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

6 206) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(h)(1) Not later than each date that is 90 days be8 fore a new minimum wage determined under subsection 

9 (a)(1)(I) is to take effect, the Secretary shall determine 

10 the minimum wage to be in effect under this subsection 

11 for each period described in subsection (a)(1)(I). The wage 

12 determined under this subsection for a year shall be— 

13 ‘‘(A) not less than the amount in effect under 

14 subsection (a)(1) on the date of such determination; 

15 ‘‘(B) increased from such amount by the annual 

16 percentage increase, if any, in the median hourly 

17 wage of all employees as determined by the Bureau 

18 of Labor Statistics; and 

19 ‘‘(C) rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05. 

20 ‘‘(2) In calculating the annual percentage increase in 

21 the median hourly wage of all employees for purposes of 

22 paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary, through the Bureau of 

23 Labor Statistics, shall compile data on the hourly wages 

24 of all employees to determine such a median hourly wage 

25 and compare such median hourly wage for the most recent 


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1 year for which data are available with the median hourly 

2 wage determined for the preceding year.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. TIPPED EMPLOYEES. 

4 (a) BASE MINIMUM WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOY5 EES.—Section 3(m)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 

6 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(m)(1)) is amended to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(1) the cash wage paid such employee, which 

9 for purposes of such determination shall be not less 

10 than— 

11 ‘‘(A) for the 1-year period beginning on 

12 the effective date under section 7 of the Raise 

13 the Wage Act, $4.15 an hour; 

14 ‘‘(B) for each succeeding 1-year period 

15 until the hourly wage under this paragraph 

16 equals the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1) 

17 for such period, an hourly wage equal to the 

18 amount determined under this paragraph for 

19 the preceding year, increased by the lesser of— 

20 ‘‘(i) $1.15; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) the amount necessary for the 

22 wage in effect under this paragraph to 

23 equal the wage in effect under section 

24 6(a)(1) for such period, rounded to the 

25 nearest multiple of $0.05; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) for each succeeding 1-year period 

2 after the increase made pursuant to subpara3 graph (B)(ii), the minimum wage in effect 

4 under section 6(a)(1); and’’. 

5 (b) TIPS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEES.—Section 3(m) 

6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

7 203(m)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the second sentence of the matter fol9 lowing paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘of this sub10 section, and all tips received by such employee have 

11 been retained by the employee’’ and inserting ‘‘of 

12 this subsection. Any employee shall have the right to 

13 retain any tips received by such employee’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘An em15 ployer shall inform each employee of the right and 

16 exception provided under the preceding sentence.’’. 

17 (c) SCHEDULED REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM

18 WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOYEES.— 

19 (1) TIPPED EMPLOYEES.—Section 3(m) of the 

20 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

21 203(m)), as amended by subsections (a) and (b), is 

22 further amended by striking the sentence beginning 

23 with ‘‘In determining the wage an employer is re24 quired to pay a tipped employee,’’ and all that fol25 lows through ‘‘of this subsection.’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘The wage required to be paid to a tipped employee 

2 shall be the wage set forth in section 6(a)(1).’’. 

3 (2) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Section 6(i) of 

4 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

5 206(i)), as added by section 5, is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘or in accordance with subparagraph (B) or (C) 

7 of section 3(m)(1) (as applicable),’’. 

8 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take effect on the 

10 date that is one day after the date on which the 

11 hourly wage under section 3(m)(1)(C) of the Fair 

12 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

13 203(m)(1)(C)), as amended by subsection (a), takes 

14 effect. 

15 SEC. 4. NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES WHO ARE LESS THAN 20 

16 YEARS OLD. 

17 (a) BASE MINIMUM WAGE FOR NEWLY HIRED EM18 PLOYEES WHO ARE LESS THAN 20 YEARS OLD.—Section 

19 6(g)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

20 U.S.C. 206(g)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘a wage which 

21 is not less than $4.25 an hour.’’ and inserting the fol22 lowing: ‘‘a wage at a rate that is not less than— 

23 ‘‘(A) for the 1-year period beginning on 

24 the effective date under section 7 of the Raise 

25 the Wage Act, $5.00 an hour; 


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1 ‘‘(B) for each succeeding 1-year period 

2 until the hourly wage under this paragraph 

3 equals the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1) 

4 for such period, an hourly wage equal to the 

5 amount determined under this paragraph for 

6 the preceding year, increased by the lesser of— 

7 ‘‘(i) $1.05; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the amount necessary for the 

9 wage in effect under this paragraph to 

10 equal the wage in effect under section 

11 6(a)(1) for such period, rounded to the 

12 nearest multiple of $0.05; and 

13 ‘‘(C) for each succeeding 1-year period 

14 after the increase made pursuant to subpara15 graph (B)(ii), the minimum wage in effect 

16 under section 6(a)(1).’’. 

17 (b) SCHEDULED REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM

18 WAGE FOR NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES WHO ARE LESS

19 THAN 20 YEARS OLD.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(g)(1) of the Fair 

21 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

22 206(g)(1)), as amended by subsection (a), shall be 

23 repealed effective on the date provided in paragraph 

24 (3). 


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1 (2) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Section 6(i) of 

2 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

3 206(i)), as amended by section 3(c)(2), is further 

4 amended by striking ‘‘or subparagraph (B) or (C) of 

5 section 6(g)(1) (as applicable),’’. 

6 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeal and amend7 ment made by paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, 

8 shall take effect on the date that is one day after the 

9 date on which the hourly wage under section 

10 6(g)(1)(C) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as 

11 amended by subsection (a), takes effect. 

12 SEC. 5. PUBLICATION OF NOTICE. 

13 Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

14 (29 U.S.C. 206), as amended by the preceding sections, 

15 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) Not later than 60 days prior to the effective date 

17 of any increase in the required wage determined under 

18 subsection (h), or in accordance with subparagraph (B) 

19 or (C) of section 3(m)(1) (as applicable), section 

20 14(c)(1)(A) (as applicable), or subparagraph (B) or (C) 

21 of section 6(g)(1) (as applicable), the Secretary shall pub22 lish in the Federal Register and on the website of the De23 partment of Labor a notice announcing each increase in 

24 such required wage.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. PROMOTING ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY FOR IN2 DIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

3 (a) WAGES.— 

4 (1) TRANSITION TO FAIR WAGES FOR INDIVID5 UALS WITH DISABILITIES.—Subparagraph (A) of 

6 section 14(c)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

7 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)(1)) is amended to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘(A) at a rate that equals, or exceeds, the 

10 greater of— 

11 ‘‘(i)(I) $4.25 an hour, beginning 1 

12 year after the date the wage rate specified 

13 in section 6(a)(1)(A) takes effect; 

14 ‘‘(II) $6.25 an hour, beginning 2 

15 years after such date; 

16 ‘‘(III) $8.25 an hour, beginning 3 

17 years after such date; 

18 ‘‘(IV) $10.25 an hour, beginning 4 

19 years after such date; 

20 ‘‘(V) $12.25 an hour, beginning 5 

21 years after such date; and 

22 ‘‘(VI) the wage rate in effect under 

23 section 6(a)(1), on the date that is 6 years 

24 after the date the wage specified in section 

25 6(a)(1)(A) takes effect; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, the wage rate in ef2 fect on the day before the date of enact3 ment of the Raise the Wage Act for the 

4 employment, under a special certificate 

5 issued under this paragraph, of the indi6 vidual for whom the wage rate is being de7 termined under this subparagraph,’’. 

8 (2) PROHIBITION ON NEW SPECIAL CERTIFI9 CATES; SUNSET.—Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor 

10 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)) (as 

11 amended by paragraph (1)) is further amended by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITION ON NEW SPECIAL CERTIFI14 CATES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Sec15 retary shall not issue a special certificate under this 

16 subsection to an employer that was not issued a spe17 cial certificate under this subsection before the date 

18 of enactment of the Raise the Wage Act. 

19 ‘‘(7) SUNSET.—Beginning on the day after the 

20 date on which the wage rate described in paragraph 

21 (1)(A)(i)(VI) takes effect, the authority to issue spe22 cial certificates under paragraph (1) shall expire, 

23 and no special certificates issued under paragraph 

24 (1) shall have any legal effect. 


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1 ‘‘(8) TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.—Upon request, 

2 the Secretary shall provide— 

3 ‘‘(A) technical assistance and information 

4 to employers issued a special certificate under 

5 this subsection for the purposes of— 

6 ‘‘(i) transitioning the practices of such 

7 employers to comply with this subsection, 

8 as amended by the Raise the Wage Act; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) ensuring continuing employment 

11 opportunities for individuals with disabil12 ities receiving a special minimum wage 

13 rate under this subsection; and 

14 ‘‘(B) information to individuals employed 

15 at a special minimum wage rate under this sub16 section, which may include referrals to other 

17 Federal or State entities with expertise in com18 petitive integrated employment.’’. 

19 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

20 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of en21 actment of this Act. 

22 (b) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.— 

23 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 6(i) of the Fair 

24 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(i)), as 


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1 amended by section 4(b)(2), is further amended by 

2 striking ‘‘section 14(c)(1)(A) (as applicable),’’. 

3 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

4 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the day after 

5 the date on which the wage rate described in para6 graph (1)(A)(i)(VI) of section 14(c) of the Fair 

7 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)), as 

8 amended by subsection (a)(1), takes effect. 

9 SEC. 7. GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE. 

10 Except as otherwise provided in this Act or the 

11 amendments made by this Act, this Act and the amend12 ments made by this Act shall take effect on the first day 

13 of the third month that begins after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act. 

Æ 


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