Problem
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009 while housing and food costs soared. Overtime thresholds leave millions of salaried workers unpaid for extra hours. Wage theft remains common in low-wage sectors.
Proposed Fix
Raise the federal minimum wage to $17/hour phased over five years with regional floors and automatic indexing. Restore overtime eligibility to middle-income salaried workers. Triple damages for wage theft. Ban noncompete clauses for workers under $150,000.
Economic Impact
Billions in annual wage gains for low- and middle-income households recirculate as local demand. Reduced turnover cuts hiring costs for compliant employers.
Cost of Inaction
Keeping $7.25 and eroded overtime locks in poverty wages despite record profits. EPI and BLS series show wage stagnation for typical workers while executive pay diverges.
Safeguards
- Regional floors so high-cost metros cannot undercut living costs
- Small-business technical assistance during phase-in
- DOL wage-and-hour staffing floors indexed to covered workers
- Public employer wage-theft database for repeat violators
Evidence & framing
Higher floors raise pay for low-wage workers with modest employment effects when phased. Overtime restoration returns time-and-a-half to workers misclassified as managers in name only.
Related Legislation
- Congress.gov - Minimum wage and overtime legislation
Track Raise the Wage and overtime-threshold bills
Implementation Timeline
- Phase-in wageYear 1-5
Step federal minimum to $17 with indexing thereafter.
- Overtime restoreYear 1-2
Raise salary threshold so middle-income workers regain overtime.
- Wage theftYear 2-4
Triple damages; DOL hiring surge; public violator database.
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