H.R. 5048

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5048 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5048

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for increased 
criminal and civil penalties for wage theft.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 26, 2025

Mr. Magaziner (for himself, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. Pocan, Ms. 
Norton, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Carson, Mr. Goldman of New York, Ms. Chu, Ms. Perez, Mr. Norcross, Mr. 
Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Balint, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. 
Tokuda, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mrs. Watson 
Coleman, and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for increased 
criminal and civil penalties for wage theft.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Don't Stand for Taking Employed 
Americans' Livings Act'' or the ``Don't STEAL Act''.

SEC. 2. RIGHT TO FULL COMPENSATION.

(a) In General.--The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended by 
inserting after section 7 (29 U.S.C. 207) the following:

``SEC. 8. RIGHT TO FULL COMPENSATION.

``(a) Compensation.----
``(1) In general.--Subject to section 7, an employer shall 
compensate an employee (who is described in subsection (b)) at 
a rate that is not less than the greater of--
``(A) the rate required by any contract, collective 
bargaining agreement, or other employment agreement (as 
such term is defined by the Secretary) that specifies 
how much such employer shall compensate such employee; 
or
``(B) the wage rate required under applicable 
Federal or State law.
``(b) Employee Engaged In Commerce.--The requirement under 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to any employee who in any 
workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for 
commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the 
production of goods for commerce.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 10 of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 210) is repealed.
(c) Prohibited Acts.--Section 15(a)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)(2)) is amended by striking ``or section 
7'' and inserting ``, 7, or 8''.

SEC. 3. PENALTIES FOR WAGE THEFT.

(a) Criminal Penalties.--Subsection (a) of section 16 of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Any person'' and inserting ``(1) Except 
as provided by paragraph (2), any person'';
(2) by striking ``subsection'' each place it appears and 
inserting ``paragraph''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2)(A) Any person who willfully violates section 3(m)(2)(B), 6, 
7, or 8 of this Act, relating to wages, shall be--
``(i) in the case of a violation of section 3(m)(2)(B), 6, 
7, or 8 relating to unpaid wages, or unpaid overtime 
compensation, in an amount greater than $1,000, fined in 
accordance with title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for 
not more than 5 years, or both; or
``(ii) in the case of a violation of section 3(m)(2)(B), 6, 
7, or 8 relating to unpaid wages, or unpaid overtime 
compensation, in an amount equal to or less than $1,000, fined 
in accordance with title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for 
not more than 1 year, or both.
``(B) In determining the amount of a fine under subparagraph (A), 
the following factors shall be considered:
``(i) The gravity of the violation, including the number of 
employees affected and the value of the unlawfully kept wages.
``(ii) Whether the person charged has previously been 
convicted for a violation of section 3(m)(2)(B), 6, 7, or 8.
``(iii) The appropriateness of the penalty given the size 
of the business of the person convicted.''.
(b) Civil Penalties.--Section 16 of such Act is further amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ``or section 7'' each 
place it appears and inserting ``, 7, or 8'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``or 7'' and inserting ``, 7, or 
8''; and
(B) by striking ``and 7'' and inserting ``, 7, and 
8''; and
(3) in subsection (e), by striking ``or 7'' and inserting 
``, 7, or 8''.
(c) Funds for Wage and Hour Division.--Paragraph (5) of section 
16(e) of such Act is amended--
(1) by striking ``12,'' and inserting ``12 and fines 
collected under subsection (a)(2) of this section,''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``Sums collected as 
fines under subsection (a)(2) shall be applied by the Wage and 
Hour Division of the Department of Labor to the costs of 
enforcing sections 3(m)(2)(B), 6, 7, and 8.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to violations of section 3(m)(2)(B), 6, 7, or 8 of 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 occurring on or after the date 
that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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