I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 603 
To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2021 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Ms. JAYAPAL, 
Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. 
AUCHINCLOSS, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. 
BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 
BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Penn-
sylvania, Mr. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. 
BUSH, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. CASTOR of 
Florida, Ms. CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. 
COOPER, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. CRIST, Mr. CROW, Mr. DANNY 
K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. 
DELAURO, 
Ms. 
DELBENE, 
Mr. 
DEUTCH, 
Mrs. 
DEMINGS, 
Mr. 
DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, 
Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Ms. LOIS 
FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 
GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRI-
JALVA, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. 
HORSFORD, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. HIMES, Ms. 
JACKSON LEE, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. JOHNSON 
of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. KAHELE, Ms. KAP-
TUR, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILDEE, 
Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIM
of New Jersey, Mr. 
KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Con-
necticut, Mr. LAMB, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mrs. LAW-
RENCE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. LEVIN of 
Michigan, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. LIEU, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. 
LOWENTHAL, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of 
New York, Mr. SEAN
PATRICK
MALONEY
of New York, Mr. 
MALINOWSKI, Ms. MANNING, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCOL-
LUM, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MEEKS, 
Ms. MENG, Mr. MFUME, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. 
MOULTON, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, 
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Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. 
OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 
PETERS, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of 
New York, Ms. ROSS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. RUPPERS-
BERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. 
SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of 
Georgia, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Wash-
ington, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. STRICKLAND, 
Mr. SOTO, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON 
of Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. 
TONKO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mrs. 
TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WEXTON, Ms. WILD, Ms. WILLIAMS of Geor-
gia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. YARMUTH) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage, and 
for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Raise the Wage Act 
of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES. 
(a) 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— 
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‘‘(A) $9.50 an hour, beginning on the ef-
fective date under section 7 of the Raise the 
Wage Act of 2021; 
‘‘(B) $11.00 an hour, beginning 1 year 
after such effective date; 
‘‘(C) $12.50 an hour, beginning 2 years 
after such effective date; 
‘‘(D) $14.00 an hour, beginning 3 years 
after such effective date; 
‘‘(E) $15.00 an hour, beginning 4 years 
after such effective date; and 
‘‘(F) beginning on the date that is 5 years 
after such effective date, and annually there-
after, the amount determined by the Secretary 
under subsection (h);’’. 
(b) DETERMINATION BASED ON INCREASE IN THE 
MEDIAN HOURLY WAGE OF ALL EMPLOYEES.—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) Not later than each date that is 90 days be-
fore 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 under this subsection 
for each period described in subsection (a)(1)(F). The 
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wage determined under this subsection 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, if any, in the median hourly 
wage of all employees as determined by the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics; and 
‘‘(C) rounded up 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.’’. 
SEC. 3. TIPPED EMPLOYEES. 
(a) BASE MINIMUM WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOYEES 
AND
TIPS
RETAINED
BY
EMPLOYEES.—Section 
3(m)(2)(A)(i) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(A)(i)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
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‘‘(i) the cash wage paid such employee, which 
for purposes of such determination shall be not less 
than— 
‘‘(I) for the 1-year period beginning on the 
effective date under section 7 of the Raise the 
Wage Act of 2021, $4.95 an hour; 
‘‘(II) for each succeeding 1-year period 
until the hourly wage under this clause equals 
the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1) for 
such period, an hourly wage equal to the 
amount determined under this clause for the 
preceding year, increased by the lesser of— 
‘‘(aa) $2.00; or 
‘‘(bb) the amount necessary for the 
wage in effect under this clause to equal 
the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1) for 
such period, rounded up to the nearest 
multiple of $0.05; and 
‘‘(III) for each succeeding 1-year period 
after the increase made pursuant to subclause 
(II), the minimum wage in effect under section 
6(a)(1); and’’. 
(b) TIPS
RETAINED
BY
EMPLOYEES.—Section 
3(m)(2)(A) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 
U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(A)) is amended— 
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(1) in the second sentence of the matter fol-
lowing clause (ii), by striking ‘‘of this subsection, 
and all tips received by such employee have been re-
tained by the employee’’ and inserting ‘‘of this sub-
section. 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.’’. 
(c) SCHEDULED REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM 
WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOYEES.— 
(1) TIPPED EMPLOYEES.—Section 3(m)(2)(A) 
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
203(m)(2)(A)), as amended by subsections (a) and 
(b), is further amended by striking the sentence be-
ginning with ‘‘In determining 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.—Subsection (i) 
of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 206), as amended by section 5, is 
further amended by striking ‘‘or in accordance with 
subclause (II) or (III) of section 3(m)(2)(A)(i)’’. 
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‘‘(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) $1.75; 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 up to the nearest multiple of $0.05; 
and 
‘‘(C) for each succeeding 1-year period after the 
increase made pursuant to subparagraph (B)(ii), the 
minimum wage in effect under section 6(a)(1).’’. 
(b) SCHEDULED REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM 
WAGE FOR NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES WHO ARE LESS 
THAN 20 YEARS OLD.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 6(g) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(g)), as 
amended by subsection (a), shall be repealed. 
(2) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—Subsection (i) 
of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 206), as amended by section 
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3(c)(2), is further amended by striking ‘‘or subpara-
graph (B) or (C) of subsection (g)(1),’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The repeal and amend-
ment made by paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, 
shall take effect on the date that is 1 day after the 
date on which the hourly wage under subparagraph 
(C) of section 6(g)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(g)(1)), as amended by 
subsection (a), takes effect. 
SEC. 5. PUBLICATION OF NOTICE. 
Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 206), as amended by the preceding sections, 
is further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i) Not later than 60 days prior to the effective date 
of any increase in the required wage determined under 
subsection (a)(1) or subparagraph (B) or (C) of subsection 
(g)(1), or in accordance with subclause (II) or (III) of sec-
tion 3(m)(2)(A)(i) or section 14(c)(1)(A), the Secretary 
shall publish in the Federal Register and on the website 
of the Department of Labor a notice announcing each in-
crease in such required wage.’’. 
SEC. 6. PROMOTING ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY FOR IN-
DIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) WAGES.— 
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(1) TRANSITION TO FAIR WAGES FOR INDIVID-
UALS
WITH
DISABILITIES.—Subparagraph (A) of 
section 14(c)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)(1)) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) at a rate that equals or exceeds, for each 
year, the greater of— 
‘‘(i)(I) $5.00 an hour, beginning on the ef-
fective date under section 7 of the Raise the 
Wage Act of 2021; 
‘‘(II) $7.50 an hour, beginning 1 year 
after such effective date; 
‘‘(III) $10.00 an hour, beginning 2 years 
after such effective date; 
‘‘(IV) $12.50 an hour, beginning 3 years 
after such effective date; 
‘‘(V) $15.00 an hour, beginning 4 years 
after such effective date; and 
‘‘(VI) the wage rate in effect under section 
6(a)(1), beginning 5 years after such effective 
date; or 
‘‘(ii) if applicable, the wage rate in effect 
on the day before the date of enactment of the 
Raise the Wage Act of 2021 for the employ-
ment, under a special certificate issued under 
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this paragraph, of the individual for whom the 
wage rate is being determined under this sub-
paragraph,’’. 
(2) PROHIBITION
ON
NEW
SPECIAL
CERTIFI-
CATES; SUNSET.—Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)) (as 
amended by paragraph (1)) is further amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) PROHIBITION ON NEW SPECIAL CERTIFI-
CATES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall not issue a special certificate under this 
subsection to an employer that was not issued a spe-
cial certificate under this subsection before the date 
of enactment of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021. 
‘‘(7) SUNSET.—Beginning on the day after the 
date on which the wage rate described in paragraph 
(1)(A)(i)(VI) takes effect, the authority to issue spe-
cial certificates under paragraph (1) shall expire, 
and no special certificates issued under paragraph 
(1) shall have any legal effect. 
‘‘(8) TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.—Upon request, 
the Secretary shall provide— 
‘‘(A) technical assistance and information 
to employers issued a special certificate under 
this subsection for the purposes of— 
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‘‘(i) assisting such employers to com-
ply with this subsection, as amended by 
the Raise the Wage Act of 2021; and 
‘‘(ii) ensuring continuing employment 
opportunities for individuals with disabil-
ities receiving a special minimum wage 
rate under this subsection; and 
‘‘(B) information to individuals employed 
at a special minimum wage rate under this sub-
section, which may include referrals to Federal 
or State entities with expertise in competitive 
integrated employment.’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall take effect on the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
(b) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Subsection (i) of section 6 
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
206), as amended by section 4(b)(2), is further 
amended by striking ‘‘or section 14(c)(1)(A),’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the day after 
the date on which the wage rate described in para-
graph (1)(A)(i)(VI) of section 14(c) of the Fair 
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Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)), as 
amended by subsection (a)(1), takes effect. 
SEC. 7. GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, or the 
amendments made by this Act, this Act and the amend-
ments made by this Act shall take effect on the first day 
of the third month that begins after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
Æ 
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