Title: Paying Hourly Americans Stronger Earnings (PHASE) in $15 Wage Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Paying Hourly Americans Stronger Earnings (PHASE) in $15 Wage Act
This bill phases in increases in the federal minimum wage based on the metropolitan statistical area or the nonmetropolitan portion in which an employer resides, adjusted to account for the cost-of-living in such area.
The bill repeals separate minimum wages for tipped employees and for newly hired employees who are younger than age 20.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2080 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2080

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for a Federal, 
       cost-of-living based minimum wage, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 4, 2019

  Ms. Sewell of Alabama (for herself, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. 
 Peters, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Bera, Ms. Spanberger, Ms. Kendra S. Horn of 
   Oklahoma, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Ms. 
  Slotkin, and Miss Rice of New York) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for a Federal, 
       cost-of-living based minimum wage, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Paying Hourly Americans Stronger 
Earnings (PHASE) in $15 Wage Act''.

SEC. 2. COST-OF-LIVING BASED MINIMUM WAGE.

    (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 section, not 
        less than the amount determined by the Secretary under 
        subsection (h) for the metropolitan statistical area or the 
        nonmetropolitan portion in which the employer resides;''.
    (b) Determination of Regional Minimum Wage.--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) Determination of Minimum Wage.--
            ``(1)(A) On the effective date of the Paying Hourly 
        Americans Stronger Earnings (PHASE) in $15 Wage Act, the wage 
        determined under this paragraph for a metropolitan statistical 
        area or nonmetropolitan portion shall be equal to the result 
        obtained--
                    ``(i) by multiplying--
                            ``(I) 40 percent of the national average 
                        hourly wage of private sector, non-supervisory 
                        workers (as reported by the Bureau of Labor 
                        Statistics of the Department of Labor for the 
                        most recent month for which data are 
                        available); by
                            ``(II) the adjustment percentage specified 
                        in paragraph (2) for the area or portion; and
                    ``(ii) by rounding the result obtained under clause 
                (i) to the nearest tenth of a dollar.
            ``(B) Not later than 1 year after such effective date, 
        subparagraph (A)(i)(I) shall be applied by substituting `45 
        percent' for `40 percent'.
            ``(C) Not later than 2 years after such effective date, 
        subparagraph (A)(i)(I) shall be applied by substituting `50 
        percent' for `40 percent'.
            ``(D) Not later than 5 years after such effective date, and 
        for each 3-year period thereafter, the wage determined under 
        this paragraph for a metropolitan statistical area or 
        nonmetropolitan portion shall be equal to the greater of--
                    ``(i) the result obtained under subparagraph (C); 
                or
                    ``(ii) the wage determined under this paragraph for 
                such area or portion for the preceding three-year 
                period.
            ``(2) The adjustment percentage specified in this paragraph 
        for a metropolitan statistical area or nonmetropolitan portion 
        shall be--
                    ``(A) 87.5 percent, for a metropolitan statistical 
                area or nonmetropolitan portion with a regional price 
                parity of less than 90;
                    ``(B) 92.5 percent, for a metropolitan statistical 
                area or nonmetropolitan portion with a regional price 
                parity of less than 95, but not less than 90;
                    ``(C) 100 percent, for a metropolitan statistical 
                area or nonmetropolitan portion with a regional price 
                parity of less than 105, but not less than 95;
                    ``(D) 107.5 percent, for a metropolitan statistical 
                area or nonmetropolitan portion with a regional price 
                parity of less than 110, but not less than 105; and
                    ``(E) 115 percent, for a metropolitan statistical 
                area or nonmetropolitan portion with a regional price 
                parity of not less than 110.
            ``(3) In this subsection:
                    ``(A) The term `metropolitan statistical area' 
                means a geographic area, defined by the Office of 
                Management and Budget for statistical purposes, 
                containing a large population nucleus and adjacent 
                communities having a high degree of social and economic 
                integration with that nucleus.
                    ``(B) The term `nonmetropolitan portion' means any 
                county (or portion thereof) which is not within a 
                metropolitan statistical area. All nonmetropolitan 
                portions of a State shall be treated, in aggregate, as 
                a single nonmetropolitan portion for the State.
                    ``(C) The term `regional price parity' means the 
                regional price parity for a metropolitan statistical 
                area or nonmetropolitan portion determined by the 
                Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of 
                Commerce for the most recent year for which data are 
                available. In determining regional price parities for 
                purposes of this subsection, the Bureau of Economic 
                Analysis shall use the same methodology used to 
                determine such parities for the most recent year for 
                which such parities were reported by the Bureau before 
                the date of the enactment of this subsection.''.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM WAGE FOR TIPPED EMPLOYEES.

    Subparagraph (A) of section 3(m)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 
of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)) is amended to read as follows: ``(A) The 
wage required to be paid to a tipped employee shall be the wage set 
forth in section 6(a)(1).''.

SEC. 4. REPEAL OF SEPARATE MINIMUM WAGE FOR NEWLY HIRED EMPLOYEES WHO 
              ARE LESS THAN 20 YEARS OLD.

    Section 6(g)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
206(g)(1)) is repealed.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments and repeals made by this Act shall take effect on 
the first day of the third month that begins after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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