II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1887

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase

in the minimum wage and protect the rights of States that have adopted

State minimum wage laws.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 9, 1999

Mr. ENZI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide

for an increase in the minimum wage and protect the

rights of States that have adopted State minimum wage

laws.

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 ‘‘Minimum Wage State

5 Flexibility Act of 1999’’.
2

•S 1887 IS

1 SEC. 2. STATE MINIMUM WAGES AND AREA STANDARDS.

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

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

4 adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(h) STATE MINIMUM WAGES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

7 provision of this section and sections 13(a) and 14,

8 an employer in a State that has adopted minimum

9 wage legislation that meets the requirements of

10 paragraph (2) shall pay to each of its employees a

11 wage at a rate that is not less than the rate provided

12 for in such State’s minimum wage legislation.

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—This section and sections

14 13(a) and 14 shall only apply in such States that

15 have adopted minimum wage legislation that sets

16 wages for at least 95 percent of the workers within

17 the State at an hourly rate that is not less than 85

18 percent of the hourly rate generally applicable for

19 the year involved under subsection (a).

20 ‘‘(3) EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES.—The chief

21 executive officer of a State, through an executive

22 order (or its equivalent), may set wages applicable to

23 at least 95 percent of the employees within the State

24 (or particular county of the State) at an hourly rate

25 that is not less than 85 percent of the hourly rate

26 generally applicable for the year involved under sub-
3

•S 1887 IS

1 section (a) if any of the following circumstances

2 exist:

3 ‘‘(A) The State welfare-to-work programs

4 would be sufficiently harmed by mandating a

5 minimum wage rate above an hourly rate equal

6 to 85 percent of the hourly rate required under

7 subsection (a).

8 ‘‘(B) The State (or county) is experiencing

9 a period of high unemployment.

10 ‘‘(C) The State (or county) is experiencing

11 a period of slow economic growth.

12 This paragraph shall only apply to an executive

13 order (or its equivalent) that is effective for a period

14 of 12 months or less.’’.

15 (b) APPLICABILITY OF MINIMUM WAGE TO THE TER16 RITORIES.—Notwithstanding section 5 of the Fair Labor

17 Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 205), the provisions of section

18 6 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 206) shall apply to the territories

19 and possessions of the United States (including the Com20 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) in the same

21 manner as such provisions apply to the States.

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the amendments made by this section

25 shall take effect on April 1, 2000.
4

•S 1887 IS

1 (2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN STATES.—In the

2 case of a State which the Secretary of Labor identi3 fies as having a legislature which is not scheduled to

4 meet prior to the effective date described in para5 graph (1) in a legislative session, the date specified

6 in such paragraph shall be the first day of the first

7 calendar quarter beginning after the close of the

8 first legislative session of the State legislature that

9 begins on or after such effective date, and in which

10 a State law described in section 6(h)(2) of the Fair

11 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (as added by sub12 section (a)) may be considered. For purposes of the

13 previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a

14 2-year legislative session, each year of such session

15 shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of

16 the State legislature.

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