[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 917 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 917

To provide for livable wages for Federal Government workers and workers 
                     hired under Federal contracts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2001

  Mr. Gutierrez (for himself, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. 
   Bonior, Mr. Frank, Mr. Blagojevich, Mr. Owens, Mr. Cummings, Mr. 
   McDermott, Mr. Farr of California, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Hilliard, Mr. 
    Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Matsui, Mr. Costello, Mr. McNulty, Mr. 
 Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Rush, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Jackson-Lee of 
 Texas, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Payne, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Ms. Schakowsky, 
Mr. Evans, Ms. Waters, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Filner, Mr. Reyes, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
Stark, Mr. Nadler, Ms. McKinney, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Baldwin, 
   Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. 
   Jefferson, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Maloney of Connecticut, Ms. Lee, Ms. 
  Pelosi, Mr. Strickland, Mr. Towns, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Millender-
  McDonald, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Baca, Mr. Clay, Mr. Moakley, Mrs. Jones of 
   Ohio, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Engel, Mr. Hoeffel, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. 
   Kilpatrick, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. DeFazio Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. 
 Hinchey, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Phelps, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, and 
 Mr. Green of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee 
    on Education and the Workforce, 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 provide for livable wages for Federal Government workers and workers 
                     hired under Federal contracts.

    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 ``Federal Living Wage Responsibility 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     The Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to data from fiscal year 1999, approximately 
        162,000 Federal contract workers did not earn a wage sufficient 
        to lift a family of four out of poverty. Just under 60 percent 
        of these poorly paid workers work for large firms and 62 
        percent work on Department of Defense contracts. These workers 
        represent 11 percent of the total 1.4 million Federal contract 
        workers in the United States.
            (2) As of September 2000, 14,356 workers employed by the 
        Federal Government earned less than the poverty level for a 
        family of four.
            (3) A majority of workers earning less than a living wage 
        are adult females working full-time. A disproportionate number 
        of workers earning less than a living wage are minorities.
            (4) The Federal Government provides billions of dollars to 
        businesses each year, through spending programs, grants and 
        Government-favored financing.
            (5) In fiscal year 1999, the Federal Government awarded 
        contracts worth over $208 billion.
            (6) Congress must ensure that Federal dollars are used 
        responsibly to improve the economic security and well-being of 
        Americans across the country.

SEC. 3. POVERTY-LEVEL WAGE.

    (a) General Rule.--Notwithstanding any other law that does not 
specifically exempt itself from this Act and except as provided in 
subsection (b), the Federal Government and any employer under a Federal 
contract for an amount exceeding $10,000 (or a subcontract under such a 
contract) shall pay to each of their respective workers--
            (1) an hourly wage (or salary equivalent) sufficient for a 
        worker to earn, while working 40 hours a week on a full-time 
        basis, the amount of the Federal poverty level for a family of 
        four (as published in the Federal Register by the Department of 
        Health and Human Services under the authority of section 673(2) 
        of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))); 
        and
            (2) an additional amount, determined by the Secretary based 
        on the locality in which a worker resides, sufficient to cover 
        the costs to such worker to obtain any fringe benefits not 
        provided by the worker's employer.
    (b) Exemptions.--Subsection (a) does not apply to the following:
            (1) A small-business concern (as that term is used in 
        section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)).
            (2) A nonprofit organization exempt from Federal income tax 
        under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 
        U.S.C. 501(c)), if the ratio of the total wages of the chief 
        executive officer of such organization to the wages of the 
        full-time equivalent of the lowest paid worker is not greater 
        than 25 to 1.
    (c) Retaliation Prohibited.--It shall be unlawful for any employer 
subject to subsection (a) to terminate or suspend the employment of a 
worker on the basis of such worker's allegation of a violation of 
subsection (a).
    (d) Contract Requirement.--Any contract subject to subsection (a) 
shall contain a provision requiring the Federal contractor to ensure 
that any worker hired under such contract (or a subcontract thereof) 
shall be paid in accordance with subsection (a).

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY SECRETARY.

    (a) In General.--If the Secretary determines (in a written finding 
setting forth a detailed explanation of such determination), after 
notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record, that a Federal 
contractor (or any subcontractor thereof) subject to section 3 has 
engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of section 3, the 
following shall apply to such Federal contractor:
            (1) Contract cancellation.--After final adjudication of a 
        pattern or practice of violations, the United States may cancel 
        any contract (or the remainder thereof) with the Federal 
        contractor that is a part of the pattern or practice of 
        violations.
            (2) Restitution.--A Federal contractor whose contract is 
        cancelled under paragraph (1) shall be liable to the United 
        States in an amount equal to the costs to the Government in 
        obtaining a replacement contractor to cover the remainder of 
        any contract cancelled under paragraph (1).
            (3) Contract ineligibility.--After final adjudication of a 
        pattern or practice of violations, the Federal contractor shall 
        be ineligible to enter into, extend, or renew a contract with 
        the United States for a period of five years after the date of 
        such adjudication.
            (4) Publication.--Not later than 90 days after final 
        adjudication of a pattern or practice of violations, the 
        Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice 
        describing the ineligibility of the Federal contractor under 
        paragraph (3).
    (b) Safe Harbor.--Subsection (a) shall not apply if--
            (1) the Federal contractor has entered into a consent 
        agreement with the Secretary with regard to a pattern or 
        practice of violations of section 3 and has paid to any 
        aggrieved workers all wages due them, to the satisfaction of 
        the Secretary; or
            (2) the Secretary determines, after consultation with the 
        affected Government entity, that cancellation or debarment 
        under subsection (a) would not be in the best interests of the 
        Nation or of such Government entity.
    (c) Judicial Review.--Any Federal contractor aggrieved by an 
adverse determination of the Secretary under subsection (a) may seek 
review of such determination in an appropriate court.

SEC. 5. EMERGENCIES.

     The President may suspend the provisions of this Act in times of 
emergency.

SEC. 6. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.

    (a) Action.--A worker aggrieved by a violation of section 3 may, in 
a civil action, recover appropriate relief. A civil action under this 
section shall be filed not later than 3 years after the commission of 
such violation. A civil action may not be brought under this section if 
an employer subject to section 3 has paid or reinstated the worker as a 
result of an administrative action under section 4.
    (b) Relief.--In this section, the term ``appropriate relief'' 
means--
            (1) injunction of a violation of section 3;
            (2) actual damages or, if the court finds that the employer 
        willfully violated section 3, three times actual damages;
            (3) reasonable attorney fees and the costs of the action; 
        and
            (4) any other relief the court deems appropriate in the 
        circumstances of the case.

SEC. 7. RULEMAKING.

     The Secretary shall make rules to carry out this Act, which shall 
take effect not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

     In this Act:
            (1) The term ``employer'' means a person who has economic 
        power to set a worker's terms and conditions of employment, 
        regardless of the formality of an employment relationship.
            (2) The term ``fringe benefits'' means--
                    (A) medical or hospital care or contributions to a 
                health insurance plan;
                    (B) contributions to a retirement plan;
                    (C) life insurance;
                    (D) disability insurance; and
                    (E) vacation and holiday pay.
            (3) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Labor.
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