PRINTER'S NO. 1575

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

1405

Session of

2023

INTRODUCED BY GREEN, SANCHEZ, ISAACSON, KINSEY, DELLOSO,

N. NELSON, FLEMING, KRAJEWSKI AND OTTEN, JUNE 14, 2023

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JUNE 14, 2023

powers and imposing duties upon the Department of Labor and

Industry; imposing duties on employers; and providing

penalties," further providing for definitions and for minimum

wages; providing for tipped employees; and further providing

for civil actions and for preemption.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 3(d) of the act of January 17, 1968

(P.L.11, No.5), known as The Minimum Wage Act of 1968, is

amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to

full face value, subject to such deductions, charges or

allowances as may be permitted by regulations of the secretary

under section 9.

"Wage" paid to any employe includes the reasonable cost, as

determined by the secretary, to the employer for furnishing such

employe with board, lodging, or other facilities, if such board,

lodging, or other facilities are customarily furnished by such

employer to his or her employes: Provided, That the cost of

board, lodging, or other facilities shall not be included as a

part of the wage paid to any employe to the extent it is

excluded therefrom under the terms of a bona fide collective-

appropriate measures of fair value. Such evaluations, where

applicable and pertinent, shall be used in lieu of actual

measure of cost in determining the wage paid to any employe.

[In determining the hourly wage an employer is required to

pay a tipped employe, the amount paid such employe by his or her

employer shall be an amount equal to: (i) the cash wage paid the

employe which for the purposes of the determination shall be not

less than the cash wage required to be paid the employe on the

date immediately prior to the effective date of this

subparagraph; and (ii) an additional amount on account of the

received by the employe. The previous sentence shall not apply

with respect to any tipped employe unless:

(1) Such employe has been informed by the employer of the

provisions of this subsection;

(2) All tips received by such employe have been retained by

the employe and shall not be surrendered to the employer to be

used as wages to satisfy the requirement to pay the current

hourly minimum rate in effect; where the gratuity is added to

the charge made by the establishment, either by the management,

or by the customer, the gratuity shall become the property of

employment.

paragraphs to read:

Section 4. Minimum Wages.--Except as may otherwise be

provided under this act:

(a) Every employer shall pay to each of his or her employes

wages for all hours worked at a rate of not less than:

* * *

(9) Fifteen dollars ($15) an hour beginning January 1, 2024.

(10) Beginning January 1, 2025, and for each succeeding

January 1 thereafter, the minimum wage shall be increased by an

annual cost-of-living adjustment calculated by the secretary

Delaware and Maryland area. In calculating the adjustment, the

secretary shall use the most recent twelve-month period for

which figures have been officially reported by the United States

Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. At least sixty

days prior to the date the adjustment is due to take effect, the

percentage increase and the minimum wage amount, rounded to the

nearest multiple of five cents (5¢), shall be determined by the

secretary. The secretary shall, within ten days following the

determination, transmit a notice of the determination to the

Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the next

which is equal to the difference between the wage specified in

Unless an employe is informed by an employer, the additional

amount on account of tips may not exceed the value of tips

received by the employe. All tips received by an employe shall

be retained by the employe and shall not be surrendered to the

employer to be used as wages to satisfy the requirement to pay

the current hourly minimum rate in effect. Where a gratuity is

added to the charge made by the establishment, either by the

management, or by the customer, the gratuity shall become the

property of the employe. Notwithstanding any provision of law to

shall be at a rate of not less than:

(1) Five dollars ($5) an hour beginning January 1, 2024.

(2) Beginning January 1, 2025, and for each succeeding

January 1 thereafter, the minimum wage shall be increased by an

annual cost-of-living adjustment calculated by the secretary

using the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All

Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey,

Delaware and Maryland area. In calculating the adjustment, the

secretary shall use the most recent twelve-month period for

which figures have been officially reported by the United States

Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the next

available issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

Section 4. Sections 13 and 14.1 of the act are amended to

read:

Section 13. Civil Actions.--(a) If any employe is paid by

his or her employer less than the minimum wages provided by

section 4 or 4.1 of this act or by any regulation issued

thereunder, such worker may recover in a civil action the full

amount of such minimum wage less any amount actually paid to the

worker by the employer, together with costs and such reasonable

attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court, and any

agreement between the employer and the worker to work for less

which such employe was entitled under this act and regulations

issued thereunder, the secretary may take an assignment of such

wage claim, in trust for the assigning worker and may bring any

legal action necessary to collect such claim, and the employer

shall be required to pay the cost and such reasonable attorney's

fees as may be allowed by the court.]

(b) The secretary may bring any legal action necessary to

collect the wages of any employe who is paid by his or her

employer less than the minimum wages provided by section 4 or

4.1 of this act or by any regulation issued under this act. The

of overtime compensation owed to the employe unless the employer

shows that the act or omission resulting in the nonpayment of

wages was in good faith and the employer has reasonable grounds

for believing that the act or omission was not in violation of

this act.

Section 14.1. [Preemption.--(a) Except as set forth in

subsection (b), this act shall preempt and supersede any local

ordinance or rule concerning the subject matter of this act.

(b) This section does not prohibit local regulation pursuant

to an ordinance which was adopted by a municipality prior to

that municipality. Nothing in this act shall permit a

municipality to pass a wage lower than the minimum wage as

required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or that are

required under section 4 or 4.1 of this act and 29 U.S.C. § 201

et seq. (Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938).

(b) A municipality that adopts a minimum wage ordinance or

other measure may adopt provisions for the local enforcement of

the ordinance or measure, including enforcement by private

parties. Nothing in this section shall preclude the secretary

from enforcing the provisions of this act.

section 3(d) of the act shall take effect January 1, 2024.

days.