I 
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108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1192
To provide for livable wages for Federal Government workers and workers 
hired under Federal contracts. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 11, 2003
Mr. GUTIERREZ (for himself, Mr. FARR, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. LEE, Ms. 
SOLIS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. HASTINGS 
of Florida, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. 
SERRANO, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. EVANS, Mr. SABO, Mr. 
BROWN of Ohio, Mr. OWENS, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. 
FATTAH, Mr. STARK, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. RAHALL, Mrs. 
MALONEY, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, 
Mr. LANTOS, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. KILDEE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. NAD-
LER, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. 
DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for livable wages for Federal Government workers 
and workers hired under Federal contracts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Living Wage 
Responsibility Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to data from fiscal year 1999, 
approximately 162,000 Federal contract workers did 
not earn a wage sufficient to lift a family of four out 
of poverty. Just under 60 percent of these poorly 
paid workers work for large firms and 62 percent 
work on Department of Defense contracts. These 
workers represent 11 percent of the total 1.4 million 
Federal contract workers in the United States. 
(2) As of September 2000, 14,356 workers em-
ployed by the Federal Government earned less than 
the poverty level for a family of four. 
(3) A majority of workers earning less than a 
living wage are adult females working full-time. A 
disproportionate number of workers earning less 
than a living wage are minorities. 
(4) The Federal Government provides billions of 
dollars to businesses each year, through spending 
programs, grants and Government-favored financing. 
(5) In fiscal year 1999, the Federal Govern-
ment awarded contracts worth over $208 billion.
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(6) Congress must ensure that Federal dollars 
are used responsibly to improve the economic secu-
rity and well-being of Americans across the country. 
SEC. 3. POVERTY-LEVEL WAGE. 
(a) GENERAL RULE.—Notwithstanding any other 
law that does not specifically exempt itself from this Act 
and except as provided in subsection (b), the Federal Gov-
ernment and any employer under a Federal contract for 
an amount exceeding $10,000 (or a subcontract under 
such a contract) shall pay to each of their respective work-
ers—
(1) an hourly wage (or salary equivalent) suffi-
cient for a worker to earn, while working 40 hours 
a week on a full-time basis, the amount of the Fed-
eral poverty level for a family of four (as published 
in the Federal Register by the Department of 
Health and Human Services under the authority of 
section 673(2) of the Community Services Block 
Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))); and 
(2) an additional amount, determined by the 
Secretary based on the locality in which a worker re-
sides, sufficient to cover the costs to such worker to 
obtain any fringe benefits not provided by the work-
er’s employer.
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(b) EXEMPTIONS.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 
the following: 
(1) A small-business concern (as that term is 
used in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 
U.S.C. 632)).
(2) A nonprofit organization exempt from Fed-
eral income tax under section 501(c) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)), if the 
ratio of the total wages of the chief executive officer 
of such organization to the wages of the full-time 
equivalent of the lowest paid worker is not greater 
than 25 to 1. 
(c) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—It shall be unlawful 
for any employer subject to subsection (a) to terminate 
or suspend the employment of a worker on the basis of 
such worker’s allegation of a violation of subsection (a). 
(d) CONTRACT REQUIREMENT.—Any contract sub-
ject to subsection (a) shall contain a provision requiring 
the Federal contractor to ensure that any worker hired 
under such contract (or a subcontract thereof) shall be 
paid in accordance with subsection (a). 
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY SECRETARY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines (in a 
written finding setting forth a detailed explanation of such 
determination), after notice and an opportunity for a hear-
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ing on the record, that a Federal contractor (or any sub-
contractor thereof) subject to section 3 has engaged in a 
pattern or practice of violations of section 3, the following 
shall apply to such Federal contractor:
(1) CONTRACT CANCELLATION.—After final ad-
judication of a pattern or practice of violations, the 
United States may cancel any contract (or the re-
mainder thereof) with the Federal contractor that is 
a part of the pattern or practice of violations. 
(2) RESTITUTION.—A Federal contractor whose 
contract is canceled under paragraph (1) shall be 
liable to the United States in an amount equal to 
the costs to the Government in obtaining a replace-
ment contractor to cover the remainder of any con-
tract canceled under paragraph (1). 
(3) CONTRACT INELIGIBILITY.—After final ad-
judication of a pattern or practice of violations, the 
Federal contractor shall be ineligible to enter into, 
extend, or renew a contract with the United States 
for a period of five years after the date of such adju-
dication. 
(4) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 90 days 
after final adjudication of a pattern or practice of 
violations, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal
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Register a notice describing the ineligibility of the 
Federal contractor under paragraph (3). 
(b) SAFE HARBOR.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 
if—
(1) the Federal contractor has entered into a 
consent agreement with the Secretary with regard to 
a pattern or practice of violations of section 3 and 
has paid to any aggrieved workers all wages due 
them, to the satisfaction of the Secretary; or 
(2) the Secretary determines, after consultation 
with the affected Government entity, that cancella-
tion or debarment under subsection (a) would not be 
in the best interests of the Nation or of such Gov-
ernment entity. 
(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any Federal contractor ag-
grieved by an adverse determination of the Secretary 
under subsection (a) may seek review of such determina-
tion in an appropriate court. 
SEC. 5. EMERGENCIES. 
The President may suspend the provisions of this Act 
in times of emergency. 
SEC. 6. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 
(a) ACTION.—A worker aggrieved by a violation of 
section 3 may, in a civil action, recover appropriate relief. 
A civil action under this section shall be filed not later
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than 3 years after the commission of such violation. A civil 
action may not be brought under this section if an em-
ployer subject to section 3 has paid or reinstated the work-
er as a result of an administrative action under section 
4. 
(b) RELIEF.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate 
relief’’ means—
(1) injunction of a violation of section 3; 
(2) actual damages or, if the court finds that 
the employer willfully violated section 3, three times 
actual damages; 
(3) reasonable attorney fees and the costs of 
the action; and 
(4) any other relief the court deems appropriate 
in the circumstances of the case. 
SEC. 7. RULEMAKING. 
The Secretary shall make rules to carry out this Act, 
which shall take effect not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘employer’’ means a person who 
has economic power to set a worker’s terms and con-
ditions of employment, regardless of the formality of 
an employment relationship.
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(2) The term ‘‘fringe benefits’’ means—
(A) medical or hospital care or contribu-
tions to a health insurance plan; 
(B) contributions to a retirement plan; 
(C) life insurance; 
(D) disability insurance; and 
(E) vacation and holiday pay. 
(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Labor.
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