I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 917
To provide for livable wages for Federal Government workers and workers
hired under Federal contracts.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 7, 2001
Mr. GUTIERREZ (for himself, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr.
BONIOR, Mr. FRANK, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. OWENS, Mr. CUMMINGS,
Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. HILLIARD,
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. MCNULTY,
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. RUSH, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. JACK-
SON-LEE of Texas, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii,
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. EVANS, Ms. WATERS, Mr. WYNN, Mr. FILNER,
Mr. REYES, Ms. NORTON, Mr. STARK, Mr. NADLER, Ms. MCKINNEY,
Mr. FATTAH, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr.
KUCINICH, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms.
WOOLSEY, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Ms. LEE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr.
STRICKLAND, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. MILLENDER-
MCDONALD, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. BACA, Mr. CLAY, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mrs.
JONES of Ohio, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mrs.
CHRISTENSEN, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. DEFAZIO
Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. PHELPS, Mr.
BRADY of Pennsylvania, and Mr. GREEN of Texas) introduced the fol-
lowing 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 com-
mittee 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,
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.
(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
workers—
(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.
(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-
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 cancelled 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 cancelled 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
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
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.
(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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