Sponsors (33)
Official title: To place the Federal minimum wage on a durable path toward a living wage aligned with the national median wage, to require large, highly profitable corporations to lead the transition, to end all subminimum wages, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 28, 2026 by Delia Ramirez · Last progress April 28, 2026
The bill substantially raises and indexes the federal minimum wage and expands wage protections (including for incarcerated, tipped, youth, and disability‑certificate workers), boosting pay and predictability for many low‑wage workers while imposing significant cost, compliance, and transition pressures on small businesses, governments, and some support programs.
Millions of low‑wage workers (minimum‑wage earners) will receive substantially higher pay over time as the federal minimum rises (to $25 for many employers) and phases up toward two‑thirds of the national median, increasing household income and reducing poverty risk.
The minimum wage will be indexed to the national median and phased on a predictable schedule, helping preserve purchasing power over time and giving workers and employers a clearer, automatic path for future increases.
Tipped workers will get higher guaranteed cash wages and explicit protections to retain tips, improving take‑home pay and preventing employer tip diversion.
States, counties, private operators, and taxpayers may face materially higher payroll and contract costs (including for incarcerated-worker pay and public contracts), increasing budgetary pressure on governments and potentially requiring higher taxes or reduced services.
Small and thin‑margin businesses across many sectors will likely face significantly higher labor costs that could lead to reduced hiring or hours, automation, price increases, or closures, disproportionately affecting small employers and some low‑skill workers.
The phased schedules, new classifications, tip‑rule changes, youth and disability transitions, and publication mechanics create substantial compliance and administrative complexity for employers and the Department of Labor, increasing enforcement disputes and implementation costs.
Based on analysis of 11 sections of legislative text.
Phases the federal minimum wage to a living‑wage target (two‑thirds of median) via two schedules (large vs other employers), adds incarcerated workers to FLSA, and phases out subminimum exceptions.
Adds incarcerated workers into the Fair Labor Standards Act’s coverage and phases the federal minimum wage up to a living-wage standard equal to two-thirds of the national median hourly wage. The bill creates two wage tracks (large employers and other employers) with staged increases to $25/hour, changes rules for tipped, youth, and special‑certificate (disabled worker) subminimum wages, limits deductions from incarcerated workers’ pay, and requires public notice of wage increases. The measure sets definitions for large versus other employers, mandates indexing to the Bureau of Labor Statistics median once the target is reached, phases out special subminimum programs as they reach parity, and gives the Department of Labor responsibilities for publishing determinations and providing assistance to certificate holders. Effective date defaults to January 1 following enactment unless the text says otherwise.