Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737; 113th Congress)
.svg) |
|
| Full title | To provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage and to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend increased expensing limitations and the treatment of certain real property as section 179 property. |
|---|---|
| Introduced in | 113th United States Congress |
| Introduced on | November 19, 2013 |
| Sponsored by | Sen. Tom Harkin (D, IA) |
| Number of co-sponsors | 1 |
| Effects and codifications | |
| Act(s) affected | Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Internal Revenue Code of 1986 |
| U.S.C. section(s) affected | 29 U.S.C. § 206, 29 U.S.C. § 203 |
| Agencies affected | Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor |
| Legislative history | |
|
|
The Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737) is a bill that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over the course of a two-year period. The bill was strongly supported by President Barack Obama and many of the Democratic Senators, but strongly opposed by Republicans in the Senate and House.
The bill was introduced into the United States Senate during the 113th United States Congress.
In the United States workers generally must be paid no less than the statutory minimum wage. As of July 2009, the federal government mandates a nationwide minimum wage level of $7.25 per hour, while some states and municipalities have set minimum wage levels higher than the federal level, with the highest state minimum wage being $9.47 per hour in Washington as of January 1, 2015. Among those paid by the hour in 2013, 1.5 million were reported as earning exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage. About 1.8 million were reported as earning wages below the minimum. Together, these 3.3 million workers with wages at or below the minimum represent, respectively: 1.0% of the population, 1.6% of the labor force, 2.5% of all workers, and 4.3% of hourly workers. Many states already have a state minimum wage higher than the existing federal minimum wage.
The major economic schools of thought - Classical economics, Keynesian economics, and the Austrian School - disagree about the importance and the effects of the minimum wage. According to a paper written in 2000 by Fuller and Geide-Stevenson, 73.5% (27.9% of which agreed with provisos) of American economists agreed that a minimum wage increases unemployment among unskilled and young workers, while 26.5% disagreed with this statement. Some economic research has shown that restaurant prices rise in response to minimum wage increases. Overall, there is no consensus between economists about the effects of minimum wages on youth employment, although empirical evidence suggests that this group is most vulnerable to high minimum wages.
...
Wikipedia