Living Wage for Federal Contractors Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9571 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9571

To establish a minimum wage for all Federal contractors, and for other
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 2, 2026

  Ms. Adams (for herself, Mr. Cleaver, Mrs. McIver, Mr. McGovern, Ms.
Norton, Ms. Titus, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the following
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce,
 and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To establish a minimum wage for all Federal contractors, and for other
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Living Wage for Federal Contractors
Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL CONTRACTOR MINIMUM WAGE.

    (a) Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Required.--An employee shall be
paid a basic hourly rate of pay that is not less than--
            (1) $17.00 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        first day of the third month that begins after the date of
        enactment of this Act;
            (2) $19.00 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        last day of the 1-year period described in paragraph (1);
            (3) $21.00 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        last day of the 1-year period described in paragraph (2);
            (4) $23.00 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        last day of the 1-year period described in paragraph (3);
            (5) $25.00 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        last day of the 1-year period described in paragraph (4); and
            (6) for the succeeding 1-year period after the 1-year
        period described in paragraph (5), and for each 1-year period
        thereafter, the amount in effect under subsection (b) for such
        1-year period.
    (b) Determination of Inflation Adjusted Minimum Wage.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than the date that is 90 days
        prior to a new amount determined under this subsection is to
        take effect for a 1-year period as described in subsection
        (a)(6), the Secretary of Labor shall determine the amount in
        effect under this subsection for such 1-year period. The amount
        determined under this paragraph for a 1-year period shall be an
        amount equal to the greater of--
                    (A) the basic hourly rate of pay in effect on the
                date preceding such 1-year period; or
                    (B) such rate of pay, multiplied by the ratio of--
                            (i) the CPI-W of the preceding 1-year
                        period, to
                            (ii) the CPI-W for the 1-year period
                        immediately prior to such preceding 1-year
                        period.
            (2) Rounding.--If the amount determined under paragraph (1)
        for a 1-year period is not a multiple of $0.05, such amount
        shall be rounded up to the nearest multiple of $0.05.
            (3) CPI-W defined.--
                    (A) In general.--In this subsection, the term
                ``CPI-W'' means, when used with respect to a 1-year
                period, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners
                and Clerical Workers (United States city average, all
                items, not seasonally adjusted), or its successor
                publication, as determined by the Bureau of Labor
                Statistics, for the base period of such 1-year period.
                    (B) Base period.--Not later than the date on which
                the Secretary first determines the basic hourly rate of
                pay in effect under this subsection, the Secretary
                shall select the base period to be used for each 1-year
                period from the following:
                            (i) The most recent month for which the
                        CPI-W is available.
                            (ii) The most recent quarter so available.
                            (iii) The most recent year so available.
    (c) Application to Tipped Workers.--For employees covered under
subsection (a) who are tipped employees (as defined in section 3 of the
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(t))), the basic hourly
rate of pay that must be paid to such an employee shall be an amount
equal to--
            (1) for the 1-year period beginning on the first day of the
        third month after the date of enactment of this Act, $13 per
        hour;
            (2) $16 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        last day of the 1-year period described in paragraph (1);
            (3) $19 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        last day of the 1-year period described in paragraph (2);
            (4) $22 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        last day of the 1-year period described in paragraph (3);
            (5) $25 per hour, for the 1-year period beginning on the
        last day of the 1-year period described in paragraph (4); and
            (6) for the 1-year period following the 1-year period
        described in paragraph (5), and for each 1-year period
        thereafter, the amount in effect under subsection (a)(6).
    (d) Enforcement.--
            (1) Termination of work on failure to pay agreed wages.--
        Every contract within the scope of subsection (a) shall contain
        a provision that if the contracting officer finds that any
        worker employed by the contractor or any subcontractor pursuant
        to such a contract has been or is being paid a rate of wages
        less than the rate required by this Act, the Federal
        Government, by written notice to the contractor, may terminate
        the contractor's right to proceed with the work (or the part of
        the work as to which there has been a failure to pay the
        required wages). The Government may have the work completed, by
        contract or otherwise, and the contractor and the contractor's
        sureties shall be liable to the Government for any excess costs
        the Government incurs.
            (2) Authority to pay wages and list contractors violating
        contracts.--
                    (A) Payment of wages.--
                            (i) In general.--A party who violates
                        subsection (a) or (c) shall be liable to an
                        employee for an amount equal to twice the sum
                        of any unpaid wages due to any employee engaged
                        in the performance of a contract.
                            (ii) Federal government payment.--The
                        Secretary of Labor, or the head of a Federal
                        agency, as applicable, shall, in accordance
                        with clause (v), pay directly to a worker
                        described in subsection (a) or subsection (c)
                        from any accrued payments withheld under the
                        terms of a contract any wages to be due to the
                        worker under this Act.
                            (iii) Right of action.--If the accrued
                        payments withheld under the terms of the
                        contract are insufficient to reimburse all the
                        workers who have not been paid the wages
                        required under this Act, the workers have the
                        right to bring a civil action and intervene
                        against the contractor and the contractor's
                        sureties.
                            (iv) No defense.--In an action brought
                        under clause (iii) by a worker, it shall not be
                        a defense that the worker accepted or agreed to
                        accept wages less than the minimum amount
                        established under this Act.
                            (v) Cross withholding.--The total amount
                        determined under subsection (a) or subsection
                        (c) due to any employee engaged in the
                        performance of a contract may be withheld from
                        accrued payments due on the contract or on any
                        other contract between the same contractor and
                        the Federal Government. The amount withheld
                        shall be held in a deposit fund. On order of
                        the Secretary, the compensation found by the
                        Secretary of Labor or the head of a Federal
                        agency to be due an underpaid employee pursuant
                        to this chapter shall be paid from the deposit
                        fund directly to the underpaid employee.
                    (B) List of contractors violating contracts.--
                            (i) In general.--The Comptroller General
                        shall distribute to each Federal agency a list
                        of the names of persons whom the Comptroller
                        General has found to have disregarded their
                        obligations to workers and subcontractors.
                            (ii) Restriction on awarding contracts.--No
                        contract shall be awarded to persons appearing
                        on the list or to any firm, corporation,
                        partnership, or association in which the
                        persons have an interest until three years have
                        elapsed from the date of publication of the
                        list.
                    (C) Civil penalty.--
                            (i) In general.--Any party who repeatedly
                        or willfully violates subsection (a) or (c)
                        shall be subject to a civil penalty not to
                        exceed $1,100 for each such violation.
                            (ii) Determination.--In determining the
                        amount of a penalty under clause (i), the
                        appropriateness of such penalty to the size of
                        the business of the party charged and the
                        gravity of the violation shall be considered.
                        The amount of any penalty under this
                        subparagraph, when finally determined, may be--
                                    (I) deducted from sums owing by the
                                United States to the party charged; or
                                    (II) recovered in a civil action
                                brought by the Secretary in any court
                                of competent jurisdiction, in which
                                litigation the Secretary shall be
                                represented by the Solicitor of Labor.
            (3) Exemption.--This section shall not apply to a grant,
        contract, contract-like instrument, or agreement entered into
        under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
        Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) to which an Indian Tribe or Tribal
        organization (as such terms are defined in section 4 of such
        Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) is a party.
    (e) Regulation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall issue such
regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Contract.--The term ``contract'' means any contract,
        subcontract (at any tier), or any contract-like instrument a
        Federal agency enters into for goods, services, or in
        connection with any activities on Federal lands.
            (2) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means any worker
        performing work on or in connection with a contract, including
        any worker whose wages are calculated pursuant to special
        certificates issued under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor
        Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 214(c)), but such term does
        not include workers who are covered by--
                    (A) section 3142 of title 40, United States Code;
                or
                    (B) section 6704 of title 41, United States Code.
            (3) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means an
        executive agency or an establishment in the legislative or
        judicial branch of the Government, and includes all independent
        regulatory agencies and the United States Postal Service.
            (4) Independent regulatory agency.--The term ``independent
        regulatory agency'' has the meaning given the term in section
        3502(5) of title 44, United States Code.

SEC. 3. DAVIS-BACON MINIMUM WAGE.

    (a) In General.--Section 3142(b) of title 40, United States Code,
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Based on Prevailing Wage.--The minimum wages shall be the
higher of--
            ``(1) the wages the Secretary of Labor determines to be
        prevailing for the corresponding classes of laborers and
        mechanics employed on projects of a character similar to the
        contract work in the civil subdivision of the State in which
        the work is to be performed, or in the District of Columbia if
        the work is to be performed there; or
            ``(2) the wage rate in effect under section 2(a) of `The
        Living Wages for Federal Contractors Act'.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment by this section shall apply with
respect to contracts entered into on or after the date of enactment of
this Act.

SEC. 4. SERVICE CONTRACT ACT MINIMUM WAGE.

    (a) In General.--Section 6704(a) of title 41, United States Code,
is amended by striking ``section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)'' and inserting ``section 2(a) (or
section 2(c), in the case of a tipped employee) of `The Living Wages
for Federal Contractors Act'''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
with respect to contracts entered into on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. MINIMUM WAGE FOR PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 6502(1) of title 41, United States Code,
is amended by striking ``not less than'' and inserting the following:
``the higher of--
                    ``(A) the prevailing minimum wages, as determined
                by the Secretary, for individuals employed in similar
                work or in the particular or similar industries or
                groups of industries currently operating in the
                locality in which the materials, supplies, articles, or
                equipment are to be manufactured or furnished under the
                contract, except that this paragraph applies only to
                purchases or contracts relating to industries that have
                been the subject matter of a determination by the
                Secretary; or
                    ``(B) the wage rate in effect under section 2(a) of
                `The Living Wages for Federal Contractors Act'.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
with respect to contracts entered into on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
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