MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES TO $5.85 JULY 24, 2007 AS BUSH SIGNS SUPPLEMENTAL SPENDING BILL

A supplemental spending bill (H.R. 2206) that includes a provision raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by 2009 was signed into law May 25 by President Bush.

Under H.R. 2206, the minimum wage would increase from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 an hour 60 days after enactment, rise again to $6.55 an hour a year after the bill is signed, and climb to $7.25 an hour in 2009. The bill also applies the Fair Labor Standards Act in stages to American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.