[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E554-E555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HELP MORE FULL-TIME WORKERS BRING HOME A DECENT PAYCHECK

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HON. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ

of illinois

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, April 4, 2001

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, on March 7 I introduced the ``Federal
Living Wage Responsibility Act of 2001,'' legislation to mandate a
livable wage for employees under Federal contracts and subcontracts.
Seventy representatives currently cosponsor this important legislation.
Nearly a third of the members of the U.S. labor force work full-time,
year-round and still do not earn enough to sustain a family of four at
no less than the poverty threshold of $17,650 per year for a family of
four. Employees who work hard at full-time jobs should be paid a wage
that assures they will not live in poverty.
To address this problem, this Act requires that:
Employees of Federal contracts or subcontracts of more than $10,000
be paid the greater of $8.49 per hour or the hourly wage necessary to
reach the poverty level.
Individuals hired by the United States government also receive a
living wage, helping thousands of more workers to stay above the
poverty level.
Employees of Federal contracts or subcontracts and individuals hired
by the United States government receive benefits such as medical or
hospital care, vacation and holiday pay, disability and sickness
insurance, life insurance and pensions.
Although Congress passed laws such as the Davis Bacon Act and the
Service Contract Act to help ensure that employees of Federal
contractors earn a decent wage, thousands of federal workers and
federally contracted workers still do not earn enough to support
themselves or their families.
This legislation will allow hard-working Americans to earn quality
wages and to increase their savings for such essential needs as their
retirement and their children's education. We believe the Federal
government must take responsible, workable steps to reward working
Americans and to help keep them out of poverty. This bill represents a
practical step toward that goal.
Mr. Speaker, I submit the full text of this meaningful legislation
for the Record and I urge my colleagues to support this important
legislation.

H.R. 917

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

[[Page E555]]

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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