Congress moves to raise minimum wage to $25, index it to median earnings
H.R. 8555 — Living Wage For All Act · Filed by Delia Ramirez (D-IL) · 31 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 28, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill raises the federal minimum wage to $25 per hour by 2031 for large corporations (those with $1B+ revenue or 500+ employees) and by 2038 for smaller employers, then automatically adjusts it annually to equal two-thirds of the national median wage. It also eliminates the separate lower minimum wage for tipped workers and workers with disabilities, phases out subminimum wages for incarcerated workers, and requires employers to inform workers they can keep all tips.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is straightforward: it raises the federal minimum wage in scheduled steps, differentiates timelines by employer size, and ties future adjustments to the national median wage. The title accurately describes what the bill does.
What the text implies
- Elimination of the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities (Section 9) may reduce hiring of disabled workers if employers perceive compliance costs as prohibitive; the bill provides transition assistance but does not mandate hiring protections.
- Incarcerated workers gain minimum-wage protections for the first time (Section 10), but the bill does not address whether prison labor programs will continue or be restructured; potential cost increases to state/federal corrections budgets are not quantified.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
low-wage workers (direct wage increase); retail and food-service workers (largest minimum-wage workforce); workers with disabilities (elimination of subminimum wage)