Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, FEDERAL LEGISLATION—Bicameral Raise the Wage Act would increase minimum wage to $17, (Apr 9, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The bill’s fact sheet states that 87 percent of workers making $17 or less are over the age of 20.

The Raise the Wage Act, a new bicameral bill introduced by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and U.S. Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), would raise the minimum wage to $17 for all workers and gradually eliminate subminimum wages for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, and youth workers. Sanders and Scott were joined by 32 members of the Senate and 142 members of the House of Representatives.

Raise the Wage Act. A press release from the Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions cited a study by Oxfam America showing that nearly one in four workers in the U.S. made less than $17 per hour in 2024. The Raise the Wage Act seeks to raise the minimum wage to $17 over five years, eliminate tipped subminimum wage over seven years, eliminate the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities over five years, and eliminate the subminimum wage for youth workers over seven years. The Economic Policy Institute found that passing the Raise the Wage Act would provide raises to more than 22 million workers in the U.S. by 2030.

Value of minimum wage. The value of the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is the lowest since 1956, having declined by over 32 percent since it was last increased in 2009, the press release states. The tipped subminimum wage has remained stagnant at $2.13 since 1991. According to the fact sheet released with the bill, if the federal minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since February 1968, the historic high point of the value of the minimum wage would be $14.93 today.

Prevalence of workers earning subminimum wage. For at least 37,000 workers with disabilities, the current median wage is $3.50 per hour. Low-wage workers face persistent economic insecurity and struggle to afford basic necessities, including food, housing, health care, and childcare. Black and Hispanic workers disproportionately experience the burden of low wages compared to their white counterparts, with the disparity even greater for women of color. Nearly 40 percent of Hispanic women and 35 percent of Black women make less than $17 per hour, the press report states.

Companies: Oxfam America; Economic Policy Institute

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