Raise the Minimum Wage and Expand Coverage

All people in the United States deserve and need a minimum wage that they can live on.

Raise the Federal Minimum Wage

The federal minimum wage is a meager $7.25 an hour; Congress hasn’t increased it since July 24, 2009.

Jobs that pay a living wage are the foundation of a good-jobs economy. We are fighting to raise the minimum wage so it becomes a living wage—so that all workers can afford to put food on the table, pay the bills, and save for the future.

We partner with workers and advocates to call on Congress to:

Raise the federal minimum wage.
Expand minimum wage coverage.
Adopt automatic cost-of-living adjustments (“indexing”) so workers’ wages don’t get left behind.

It’s time for Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2028.

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Raising the Minimum Wage Would Particularly Benefit Women and Workers of Color

$3,200

per year is the additional income on average a $17 minimum wage would deliver to Black workers who work year-round.

24.6%

of Latinx workers would get a raise if the federal minimum wage were increased to $17.

1 in 4

women would see a pay increase if the Raise the Wage Act were passed.

Rebecca Dixon, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Employment Law Project

Workers across the country are building their power. They have demanded and won higher state minimum wages and higher wages from corporations and employers across the country. Unfortunately, Congressional inaction on this important issue is keeping wages too low for too many, particularly Black workers in the South.
Rebecca Dixon, NELP President and Chief Executive Officer

Raise State and Local Minimum Wage Floors

Underpaid workers literally cannot afford to wait any longer for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage. They are taking matters into their own hands by driving campaigns to raise their state and local minimum wages. More than 30 states and 100 localities have raised their minimum wages above the federal floor.

NELP is fighting alongside worker leaders and advocates for minimum wage increases at the federal, state, and local levels. And we’re advocating to promote the power of local communities to set their own higher wages and better protect workers without state lawmakers getting in the way.

We are supporting worker-led state and local minimum wage campaigns around the country, many of which are calling for a wage floor of $20 or more.

Where Are State and Local Minimum Wage Campaigns Happening?

Ballot and legislative campaigns that may deliver more minimum wage increases in 2024 include:

Alaska: Ballot campaign for $15 by 2027 minimum wage, plus earned sick leave.
California: Ballot campaign for $18 by 2025-2026.
Massachusetts: Legislative campaign for $20 by 2027.
Missouri: Ballot initiative for $15 by 2026, plus earned sick leave.
New York: Possible legislative campaign to strengthen the minimum wage deal struck in 2023.
Ohio: Ballot campaign for $15 by 2028. Separate legislative campaign for $15 by 2027 (OH State Senate) and $15 by 2028 (OH State House).
Oklahoma: Ballot initiative for $15 by 2027, plus paid sick leave.
Boulder County, CO: Legislative campaign for $25 by 2028.

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Workers Demand a Raise!

“Every working person deserves a living wage that can support a family. With the federal minimum wage still at $7.25 per hour, we’re nowhere near that reality. Our work isn’t done!”

– Frances Holmes, food worker, St. Louis, MO

Read Frances’ Story

Eliminate Unjust Minimum Wage Exclusions

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) established essential worker protections, including a federal minimum wage, overtime pay, and the banning of child labor. But the FLSA’s reach and impact have fallen short because the law leaves out many workers who need those protections.

The FLSA is an example of how systemic racism, misogyny, and ableism are baked into the law. Although the FLSA became law more than 85 years ago, many workers—such as tipped workers, agricultural workers, youth workers, and disabled workers—are still shut out from the FLSA’s full protection.

It’s time for Congress to get rid of these discriminatory exclusions and fulfill the promise of the FLSA.

We call on Congress to:

Raise the minimum wage to a living wage.
Phase out the subminimum wage for tipped workers.
Eliminate the lower wages allowed for youth and workers with disabilities.
Extend overtime protections to agricultural workers.
Ensure that incarcerated and detained workers are fully protected by wage and hour laws.

These policy solutions will provide more equitable and just treatment to the millions of workers who have been excluded from the protections of the FLSA for far too long.

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Reform Overdue: Workers Still Excluded from Full Federal Wage Protections

The federal subminimum tipped wage is an appalling $2.13 an hour, and shamefully, it hasn’t been increased since 1991. The reason tipped workers were excluded from the FLSA was unfair and wrong: white restaurant owners were desperate to avoid paying the full federal minimum wage to newly freed Black workers following Emancipation.

Since the federal subminimum tipped wage was established, only seven states, plus the District of Columbia, Chicago, and Flagstaff have taken action to end their subminimum wages. However, this is changing.

Today, several worker-led campaigns are demanding equal wages and treatment for all workers, including those earning tips—signaling the increasing importance of equitable wage policies. NELP is proud to be in collaboration with worker leaders and advocates in this fight to gradually phase out the federal subminimum tipped wage, once and for all.

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Most domestic care workers—an occupation mostly populated by women of color—are now legally covered under the FLSA. However, the legacy of legal exclusions and a disturbing history that traces back to slavery continues to devalue the work of Black women and other women of color. The result is that domestic workers continue to be unjustly underpaid and undervalued.

NELP is pushing for reforms that:

• Dismantle the discriminatory practices entrenched in our employment laws.
• Guarantee fair wages.
• Provide access to comprehensive benefits.
• Create better working conditions for all domestic workers.

It’s time for Congress to end the devaluation of domestic work and affirm the dignity, worth, and humanity of those who provide caregiving and support.

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To pass the FLSA in 1938, Congress and the Roosevelt administration agreed to a so-called “grand bargain” that excluded domestic workers and farmworkers—who were overwhelmingly Black—from the protections being afforded to other workers.

Although Congress later acted to extend minimum wage coverage to a greater number of agricultural employees, the FLSA continues to exclude some smaller agricultural employers from the requirement to pay farmworkers the federal minimum wage, and continues to exclude farmworkers from crucial overtime protections.

NELP, in solidarity with farmworkers and our partners, is calling for agricultural workers to be treated with respect, paid decent wages, and afforded the protections that are offered to other workers. Congress must end the racist exclusion of any farmworker from the FLSA’s federal minimum wage protection.

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Younger workers under federal and some state minimum wage laws are subject to a lower “training wage,” which are provisions that create a double standard in wage laws. This means youth workers might get less money than adults even if they’re doing the same work.

These unequal, lower wages for younger workers are clearly unjust:

• Youth workers deserve the same wage as their adult colleagues who work the same job.
• Many youth workers are working to support themselves like adults and/or help support their families.

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Under section 14(c) of the FLSA, employers can obtain a certificate to legally pay disabled people less than the federal minimum wage. Millions of disabled people work alongside people without disabilities at their jobs. We must reject this discriminatory and antiquated system that doesn’t let these workers earn the full minimum wage. The FLSA will never truly live up to its stated goal as long as this law remains intact.

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Raising the minimum wage is one of the most popular labor policies. Support for higher wages cuts across political and demographic spectrums. It’s a critical tool to improve working families’ economic security and narrow the pernicious racial and wage gaps.
Yannet Lathrop, Senior Researcher and Policy Analyst