I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2570 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 21, 2009 Ms. Edwards of Maryland (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Pingree of Maine, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Waters, Mr. Hare, Ms. Clarke, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Watson, Ms. McCollum, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Connolly of Virginia, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Ellison, and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to establish a base minimum wage for tipped employees.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Working for Adequate Gains for Employment in Services Act or WAGES Act.

2.

Base minimum wage for tipped employees

Section 3(m)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(m)(1)) is amended by adding before the semicolon the following: , except that, for purposes of this paragraph, the cash wage paid such employee shall be not less than—(A)$3.75 an hour beginning 90 days after the date of enactment of the Working for Adequate Gains for Employment in Services Act; (B)$5.00 an hour beginning July 1, 2011; and (C)beginning on July 1, 2012 and adjusted as necessary thereafter, 70 percent of the wage in effect under section 6(a)(1) but in no case less than $5.50 an hour. .

3.

Publication of notice

Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) is amended by adding at the end the following: (h)Not later than 10 days prior to the effective date of any increase in the minimum wage for tipped employees in accordance with section 3(m)(1), the Secretary shall publish (in the Federal Register and on the Internet website of the Department of Labor) a notice announcing the amount of the adjusted wage. .