Labor and Employment Desk
Labor and Employment Bills
3 bills in the Labor and Employment desk, ordered for current relevance and readability.
Labor and EmploymentHR-122-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20252 readersIn Committee
Original LAW Act
Sponsored by Al Green
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 currently sets the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour, a rate that has remained unchanged since 2009. Under existing law, Congress must pass legislation to raise the minimum wage; there is no automatic adjustment mechanism. Research cited by Congress shows that a full-time worker earning the current minimum wage earns income below the federal poverty line for a two-person household and far below what is needed to afford average rental housing. The gap between minimum wage earnings and basic living costs has widened significantly as inflation and housing costs have risen over the past 15 years. The Original LAW Act amends Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act to establish a new minimum wage schedule and an automatic adjustment mechanism. Beginning January 1, 2026, the bill requires the federal minimum wage to increase in steps: $10.59 per hour in 2026, $14.59 in 2027, $18.59 in 2028, $22.59 in 2029, and $26.59 in 2030. Starting January 1, 2031, the Secretary of Labor must determine the minimum wage every seven years based on a formula: the wage must equal 40 percent above the federal supplemental poverty threshold for a renting family of four with two children under 18, calculated for a worker earning 1,799 hours annually. The Secretary publishes the new rate in the Federal Register by November 1 each determination year. Importantly, the minimum wage cannot be adjusted downward under this formula. Implementation begins immediately upon enactment, with the first increase taking effect January 1, 2026. The bill requires no new federal funding, as the Department of Labor already administers minimum wage enforcement. The stepped increases through 2030 give employers time to adjust payroll and pricing structures. After 2030, the automatic seven-year adjustment mechanism ties wage growth to poverty thresholds rather than congressional action, though states and localities may establish higher minimums. The change affects all covered employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act and will increase labor costs across industries, potentially influencing hiring, automation decisions, and consumer prices.
Labor and Employment
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Labor and Employment
Labor and EmploymentHR-86-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20252 readersIn Committee
NOSHA Act
Sponsored by Andy Biggs
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to set and enforce workplace safety and health standards across most private-sector industries and federal agencies. OSHA develops rules governing hazards like chemical exposure, machinery safety, and ergonomics; conducts workplace inspections; investigates accidents; and issues citations and penalties for violations. The agency also maintains a reporting system for workplace injuries and illnesses. This regulatory framework has shaped workplace conditions for decades, with OSHA standards covering everything from construction site fall protection to office air quality. The NOSHA Act repeals the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 in its entirety and abolishes the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This action eliminates the federal agency responsible for developing, implementing, and enforcing occupational safety standards. The bill contains no transition provisions, alternative enforcement mechanisms, or replacement regulatory structure. Upon enactment, OSHA would cease operations, and the statutory authority for federal workplace safety regulation would be removed. The practical effect would be immediate termination of OSHA's current operations, including workplace inspections, standard-setting processes, and penalty enforcement. Existing OSHA standards would no longer carry federal legal force. States with their own occupational safety programs approved under Section 18 of the current law would retain authority within their borders, but the federal baseline would disappear. Employers would no longer face federal citations or penalties for safety violations. The bill provides no funding mechanism because it eliminates the agency rather than modifying its operations. Workplace injury reporting systems and federal safety requirements for federal contractors would also be eliminated.
Labor and Employment
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Labor and Employment
Labor and EmploymentHR-85-119Latest action: Jan 3, 20251 readersIn Committee
Small Business Flexibility Act
Sponsored by Andy Biggs
Under current federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 restricts tip pooling arrangements. Employers may require employees who customarily and regularly receive tips to pool those tips, but the pooled money can only be distributed among employees in the same category — those who typically receive tips. This restriction means that back-of-house workers like cooks and dishwashers, who rarely receive direct tips from customers, cannot benefit from tip pools created by front-of-house staff like servers and bartenders. The rule aims to ensure tips reach the workers who earned them through direct customer interaction. The Small Business Flexibility Act amends Section 3(m)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act to expand tip pooling eligibility. The bill authorizes employers to create tip pools that include both employees who customarily receive tips and employees who do not, provided that non-tipped employees receive at least the federal minimum wage. This change allows employers to combine tips from servers and bartenders with contributions from kitchen staff and other workers who earn the standard minimum wage, creating a unified tip distribution system across an entire restaurant or hospitality establishment. The change takes effect upon enactment with no specified implementation period or funding requirements. Employers in the hospitality and food service industries will immediately gain flexibility in structuring tip arrangements, though they remain free to maintain existing tip pools if they choose. The expansion could increase take-home pay for back-of-house workers in establishments that adopt broader pooling, while potentially reducing individual server earnings if tips are distributed more widely. State laws that impose stricter tip pooling rules would continue to apply where they exist, creating a patchwork of requirements across different jurisdictions.
Labor and Employment
Latest updateJan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Labor and Employment