This bill, titled the Original Living American Wage Act (Original LAW Act), would dramatically change how the federal minimum wage is calculated under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It ties the minimum wage to a target that is 40 percent above the federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renting family of four with two children under 18, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The plan sets concrete increases through 2030 (reaching $26.59 per hour in 2030) and then uses a regular formula every seven years thereafter to set a new rate so that a full-time worker earning that wage, for 1,799 hours per year, would earn at least 40 percent more than that poverty threshold. The bill also includes a safeguard preventing downward adjustments and allows higher minimum wages to be set by states, the District of Columbia, territories, or local governments. In short, the bill would lock the federal minimum wage to a poverty-based wage target and reset it on a fixed schedule with a long-range formula, rather than maintaining a static rate or relying solely on past adjustments.
Key Points
- 1The bill renames the act as the Original Living American Wage Act or Original LAW Act and amends the Fair Labor Standards Act accordingly.
- 2It ties the minimum wage to 40 percent above the federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renting family of four with two children, as measured by a Bureau of Labor Statistics publication for the prior year.
- 3Concrete 6-year ramp: the minimum wage would be set at:
- 4- $10.59/hour starting Jan 1, 2026
- 5- $14.59/hour starting Jan 1, 2027
- 6- $18.59/hour starting Jan 1, 2028
- 7- $22.59/hour starting Jan 1, 2029
- 8- $26.59/hour starting Jan 1, 2030
- 9- and then the amount determined by the Secretary beginning Jan 1, 2031, under a formula (see next point)
- 10For 2031 and every seven years after, the minimum wage rate would be set so that a worker earning that wage for 1,799 hours per year makes at least 40 percent more than the poverty threshold (as published for the preceding year). The 1,799 hours per year represent roughly 34.6 hours per week over a year.
- 11The Secretary cannot lower the wage rate below the level in effect at the time of a determination (no downward adjustment).
- 12The bill allows higher minimum wage requirements than those set by this Act to be established at the federal, state, or local level (i.e., preemption is not implied to prevent higher local minima).