I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3164 
To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2015 
Mr. ELLISON (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. CLARKE of New 
York, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 
VAN HOLLEN, Ms. LEE, Mr. HONDA, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. 
ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. HAHN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. FARR, Ms. ADAMS, 
Mr. NADLER, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. 
MEEKS, Mr. POCAN, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. COHEN, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. 
WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. BLU-
MENAUER, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. BEYER, Mr. TED LIEU 
of California, Mr. SIRES, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force 
A BILL 
To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage. 
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 ‘‘Pay Workers a Living 
Wage Act’’. 
SEC. 2. MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES. 
(a) MINIMUM WAGE.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) except as otherwise provided in this sec-
tion, not less than— 
‘‘(A) $9.00 an hour, beginning on January 
1, 2016, or the first day of the third month 
that begins after the date of enactment of the 
Pay Workers a Living Wage Act, whichever 
date is later; 
‘‘(B) $10.50 an hour, beginning 1 year 
after the date the wage specified in subpara-
graph (A) takes effect; 
‘‘(C) $12.00 an hour, beginning 2 years 
after such date; 
‘‘(D) $13.50 an hour, beginning 3 years 
after such date; 
‘‘(E) $15.00 an hour, beginning 4 years 
after such date; and 
‘‘(F) beginning on the date that is 5 years 
after such date, and annually thereafter, the 
amount determined by the Secretary pursuant 
to subsection (h);’’. 
(2) DETERMINATION BASED ON INCREASE IN 
THE MEDIAN HOURLY WAGE OF ALL EMPLOYEES.— 
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Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 206) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(h)(1) Each year, by not later than the date that 
is 90 days before a new minimum wage determined under 
subsection (a)(1)(F) is to take effect, the Secretary shall 
determine the minimum wage to be in effect pursuant to 
this subsection for each period described in subsection 
(a)(1)(F). The wage determined pursuant to this sub-
section for a year shall be— 
‘‘(A) not less than the amount in effect under 
subsection (a)(1) on the date of such determination; 
‘‘(B) increased from such amount by the annual 
percentage increase in the median hourly wage of all 
employees, as determined by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics; and 
‘‘(C) rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05. 
‘‘(2) In calculating the annual percentage increase in 
the median hourly wage of all employees for purposes of 
paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary through the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics shall compile data on the hourly wages 
of all employees to determine such a median hourly wage 
and compare such median hourly wage for the most recent 
year for which data are available with the median hourly 
wage determined for the preceding year.’’. 
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(b) BASE MINIMUM WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOY-
EES.—Section 3(m)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 
of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(m)(1)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) the cash wage paid such employee, which 
for purposes of such determination shall be not less 
than— 
‘‘(A) for the 1-year period beginning on 
January 1, 2016, or the first day of the third 
month that begins after the date of enactment 
of the Pay Workers a Living Wage Act, which-
ever date is later, $3.15 an hour; 
‘‘(B) for each succeeding 1-year period 
until the hourly wage under this paragraph 
equals the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1) 
for such period, an hourly wage equal to the 
amount determined under this paragraph for 
the preceding year, increased by the lesser of— 
‘‘(i) $1.50; or 
‘‘(ii) the amount necessary for the 
wage in effect under this paragraph to 
equal the wage in effect under section 
6(a)(1) for such period, rounded to the 
nearest multiple of $0.05; and 
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‘‘(C) for each succeeding 1-year period 
after the year in which the hourly wage under 
this paragraph first equals the wage in effect 
under section 6(a)(1) for the same period, the 
amount necessary to ensure that the wage in ef-
fect under this paragraph remains equal to the 
wage in effect under section 6(a)(1), rounded to 
the nearest multiple of $0.05; and’’. 
(c) TIPS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEES.—Section 3(m) 
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
203(m)) is amended— 
(1) in the second sentence of the matter fol-
lowing paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘of this sub-
section, and all tips received by such employee have 
been retained by the employee’’ and inserting ‘‘of 
this subsection. Any employee shall have the right to 
retain any tips received by such employee’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘An em-
ployer shall inform each employee of the right and 
exception provided under the preceding sentence.’’. 
(d) SCHEDULED REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM 
WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOYEES.— 
(1) TIPPED EMPLOYEES.—Effective on the date 
described in paragraph (3), section 3(m) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(m)), 
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as amended by subsections (b) and (c), is amended 
by striking the sentence beginning with ‘‘In deter-
mining the wage an employer is required to pay a 
tipped employee,’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of 
this subsection.’’ and inserting ‘‘The wage required 
to be paid to a tipped employee shall be the wage 
set forth in section 6(a)(1).’’. 
(2) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Effective on the 
date described in paragraph (3), section 6(i) of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
206(i)), as added by subsection (e), is amended by 
striking ‘‘or required for tipped employees’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘(as applicable)’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take effect on the 
date that is one day after the date on which the 
hourly wage under section 3(m)(1)(C) of the Fair 
Labor 
Standards 
Act 
of 
1938 
(29 
U.S.C. 
203(m)(1)(C)) takes effect. 
(e) YOUTH MINIMUM WAGE.—Section (6)(g)(1) of 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
206(g)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘a wage which is not 
less than $4.25 an hour’’ and inserting ‘‘a wage at a rate 
that is not less than the rate prescribed by subsection 
(a)(1), reduced by $3.00 per hour’’. 
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(f) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Section 6 of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (as amended by subsections 
(a) and (e)) (29 U.S.C. 206) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(i)(1) Not later than 60 days prior to the effective 
date of any adjusted required wage, the Secretary shall 
publish in the Federal Register and on the website of the 
Department of Labor a notice announcing the amount of 
the adjusted required wage. 
‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘adjusted required 
wage’ means any increase in the minimum wage that is— 
‘‘(A) determined under subsection (h); 
‘‘(B) required for tipped employees in accord-
ance with subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 
3(m)(1) (as applicable); or 
‘‘(C) required for employees who have not at-
tained the age of 20 years in accordance with sub-
section (g).’’. 
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsections (a), (b), and (e) shall take effect on January 
1, 2016, or the first day of the third month that begins 
after the date of enactment of this Act, whichever date 
is later. 
Æ 
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