Summary#
This bill, the Raise the Wage Act of 2025, raises the federal hourly minimum wage on a set schedule and then ties later increases to changes in the median hourly wage. The general effective date is the first day of the third month after the bill becomes law.
Key changes in the bill text:
- Regular minimum wage: starts at $9.50 per hour on the effective date, then rises to $11.00 (after 1 year), $12.50 (2 years), $14.00 (3 years), $15.50 (4 years), and $17.00 (5 years). Beginning 6 years after the effective date, the Secretary of Labor will set annual increases based on the annual percent change in the Bureau of Labor Statistics median hourly wage, rounded up to the nearest $0.05.
- Tipped employees: the required cash wage paid by employers for tipped workers is increased on a schedule: $6.00 (year 1), $8.00 (year 2), $10.00 (year 3), $12.00 (year 4), $13.50 (year 5), $15.00 (year 6), $17.00 (year 7). After that, tipped workers must receive the same minimum wage as other workers. The bill also says employees have the right to keep any tips they receive and requires employers to inform employees of that right. Penalty language is adjusted to cover tips that are "kept or used."
- Young newly hired workers under 20: raises the temporary lower youth wage from $4.25 to $6.00 on the effective date, then increases it each year by up to $1.75 until it equals the regular minimum wage. Once it equals the regular rate, the separate youth provision is repealed.
- Individuals with disabilities and special certificates (section 14(c)): establishes a multi-year schedule of higher hourly rates ($5.00, $7.50, $10.00, $12.50, $15.50, then equal to the standard minimum wage) and prohibits new special certificates for employers that did not already hold them at enactment. The Department of Labor must offer technical assistance and information. The authority to issue special certificates ends once the special-certificate wage equals the standard minimum wage.
- Notice and publication: the Department of Labor must publish notice of wage increases in the Federal Register and on its website at least 60 days before any scheduled increase.
What it means for you#
- If you are a worker paid the federal minimum, your hourly wage would increase on a multi-year schedule until at least $17.00, and then be adjusted each year based on median hourly wages.
- If you are a tipped worker, your employer must pay a rising base cash wage and you keep your tips. Over time the separate lower tipped wage ends and tipped workers will receive the full minimum wage.
- If you are under 20 and newly hired, you would receive a higher temporary youth wage that increases each year until it matches the regular minimum wage.
- If you work under a special 14(c) certificate because of a disability, the bill raises those permitted wages over several years, stops new certificates for employers that do not already have them, and phases out the certificate program once parity with the regular minimum wage is reached.
- If you are an employer, you will need to follow the new wage schedules, inform employees about tip retention, and may use Department of Labor technical assistance for transitioning from special certificates.
Expenses#
No publicly available information. The bill text does not include cost estimates or a Congressional Budget Office score.
Proponents' View#
The bill's stated purpose in the text is "to provide for increases in the Federal minimum wage." No additional proponents' statements or legislative findings are included in the provided bill text or metadata.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information in the provided bill text or metadata about opponents' views or objections.