Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Original Living American Wage Act” or the “Original LAW Act”.
Original Living American Wage Act
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for the calculation of the minimum wage based on the Federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renter family of 4, with 2 children under the age of 18, as determined by the Bureau of the Census, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings; sense of Congress
Findings— Congress finds the following:
In 2022, there were approximately 37,900,000 Americans living in poverty who were denied access to opportunities due to income, housing, education, jobs, and health care.
A full-time worker earning the Federal minimum wage earns an income that is just $20 above the Federal poverty line for a single-person household and $5,360 below the poverty line for a two-person household.
The average fair market rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is more than 110 percent of the monthly income of a full-time worker earning the minimum wage. In comparison, the generally accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay not more than 30 percent of its income on housing.
Two full-time workers earning the Federal minimum wage earn an income below the national housing wage, which is the amount a person must earn to afford a 1-bedroom apartment for the average rental price without spending more than 30 percent of their income.
In 2023, data from the Living Wage Calculator of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology indicated that the median average living wage across single adults and single adults with one child spanning all 50 States was $26.59 per hour or approximately $48,154.49 annually.
Sense of Congress— It is the sense of Congress that—
the Federal minimum wage should, at a minimum, be adjusted any time that inflation rises to 5 percent or above over 2 consecutive years so that a wage earner’s annual income will be not less than 40 percent above the Supplemental Poverty Threshold for a renting family of 4, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
the minimum wage should be set at a level high enough to allow 2 full-time minimum wage workers to earn an income above the national housing wage; and
Congress, any of the several States, the District of Columbia, any territory or possession of the United States, any Indian tribe, or any local or municipal government of a State may establish a higher minimum wage requirement than that established in this Act.
Sec. 3 Minimum wage
Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) is amended—
in subsection (a)(1)—
by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (B); and
by inserting at the end the following:
“(D) $10.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2026;
“(E) $14.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2027;
“(F) $18.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2028;
“(G) $22.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2029;
“(H) $26.59 an hour, beginning January 1, 2030; and
“(I) the amount determined by the Secretary under subsection (b), beginning January 1, 2031.”
by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c) and inserting after subsection (a) the following:
“(b)
“(1) Subject to paragraph (3), not later than October 1, 2030, and every 7 years thereafter, the Secretary shall determine the minimum wage rate applicable under subsection (a)(1) based on the formula described in paragraph (2). The Secretary shall publish such wage rate in the Federal Register not later than November 1 of each year in which a minimum wage rate is determined under this paragraph.
“(2) For the 7-year period beginning on January 1, 2031, and each succeeding 7-year period, the minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be a minimum hourly wage sufficient for a person working for such wage for 1,799 hours per year to earn an annual income in an amount that is 40 percent higher than the Federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renter family of 4, with two children under the age of 18, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the year preceding the year in which the wage rate is being so determined.
“(3) If the minimum wage rate determined by the Secretary under paragraph (1) would result in a lower minimum wage rate than the minimum wage rate in effect at the time of such determination, the Secretary may not adjust the minimum wage rate so in effect.”