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PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 2845 PRINTER'S NO. 3059
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2189
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY DAWKINS, WARREN AND KHAN, FEBRUARY 2, 2026
AS RE-REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MARCH 23, 2026
AN ACT
Amending the act of January 17, 1968 (P.L.11, No.5), entitled
"An act establishing a fixed minimum wage and overtime rates
for employes, with certain exceptions; providing for minimum
rates for learners and apprentices; creating a Minimum Wage
Advisory Board and defining its powers and duties; conferring
powers and imposing duties upon the Department of Labor and
Industry; imposing duties on employers; and providing
penalties," further providing for definitions, for minimum
wages and for exemptions.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sections 3(d), 4(a) and (e) and 5(c) of the act
of January 17, 1968 (P.L.11, No.5), known as The Minimum Wage
Act of 1968, are amended to read:
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 TO READ:
Section 3. Definitions.--As used in this act:
* * *
(d) "Wages" mean compensation due to any employe by reason
of his or her employment, payable in legal tender of the United
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States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at
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-
bargaining agreement applicable to the particular employe:
Provided, further, That the secretary is authorized to determine
the fair value of such board, lodging, or other facilities for
defined classes of employes and in defined areas, based on
average cost to the employer or to groups of employers similarly
situated, or average value to groups of employes, or other
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] sixty percent of the cash wage required to be paid
the employe under section 4 of this act; and (ii) an additional
amount on account of the tips received by the employe which is
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equal to the difference between the wage specified in
subparagraph (i) and the wage in effect under section 4 of this
act. The additional amount on account of tips may not exceed the
value of tips actually 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
the employe; except that this subsection shall not be construed
to prohibit the pooling of tips among employes who customarily
and regularly receive tips.
* * *
SECTION 2. SECTION 4(A) AND (E) OF THE ACT ARE AMENDED AND
THE SECTION IS AMENDED BY ADDING A SUBSECTION 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:
(1) Two dollars sixty-five cents ($2.65) an hour upon the
effective date of this amendment.
(2) Two dollars ninety cents ($2.90) an hour during the year
beginning January 1, 1979.
(3) Three dollars ten cents ($3.10) an hour during the year
beginning January 1, 1980.
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(4) Three dollars thirty-five cents ($3.35) an hour after
December 31, 1980.
(5) Three dollars seventy cents ($3.70) an hour beginning
February 1, 1989.
(6) Five dollars fifteen cents ($5.15) an hour beginning
September 1, 1997.
(7) Six dollars twenty-five cents ($6.25) an hour beginning
January 1, 2007.
(8) Seven dollars fifteen cents ($7.15) an hour beginning
July 1, 2007.
(9) Eleven dollars ($11) an hour beginning January 1, 2027.
(10) Thirteen dollars ($13) an hour beginning January 1,
2028.
(11) Fifteen dollars ($15) an hour beginning January 1,
2029.
(12) Beginning January 1, 2030, and each 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 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
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available issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
* * *
(A.2) THE FOLLOWING SHALL APPLY TO COUNTIES:
(1) BEGINNING AFTER DECEMBER 31, 2026, A COUNTY MAY, IN ITS
DISCRETION, BY ORDINANCE, PROVIDE THAT AN EMPLOYER SHALL PAY TO
EACH OF THE EMPLOYER'S EMPLOYES WAGES FOR ALL HOURS WORKED AT A
RATE GREATER THAN THE AMOUNT PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (A) BUT NOT
GREATER THAN FIFTEEN DOLLARS ($15) PER HOUR.
(2) A COUNTY SHALL NOTIFY THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PASSAGE OF
THE ORDINANCE THIRTY DAYS PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE
ORDINANCE.
(3) BEGINNING JANUARY 1 FOLLOWING THE PASSAGE OF THE
ORDINANCE AND EACH 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 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
COUNTY AND THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU FOR PUBLICATION IN
THE NEXT AVAILABLE ISSUE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA BULLETIN.
(4) AT NO TIME SHALL THE WAGE PROVIDED FOR UNDER THIS
SECTION BE LESS THAN THE WAGE PROVIDED FOR UNDER SUBSECTION (A).
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* * *
(e) In lieu of the minimum wage prescribed in subsection (a)
[and section 5(c)] and notwithstanding subsections (b) and (d),
an employer may, during the first sixty calendar days when an
employe under the age of twenty years is initially employed, pay
the employe training wages at a rate of not less than the
minimum wage set forth in section 6(a) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (29 U.S.C. § 206(a)). A person employed at the
training wage under this subsection shall be informed of the
amount of the training wage and the right to receive the full
minimum wage, or a higher wage, upon completion of the training
period. No employer may take any action to displace existing
employes, including partial displacements such as reduction in
the hours, wages or employment benefits of existing employes,
for purposes of hiring individuals at the training wage
authorized by this subsection.
SECTION 3. SECTION 5(C) OF THE ACT IS AMENDED TO READ:
Section 5. Exemptions.--* * *
[(c) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4(a)(7)
and (8), an employer unless otherwise exempt from the minimum
wage provisions of section 4(a)(6) whose employe complement is
composed of the equivalent of ten or less full-time employes to
be calculated on a forty-hour workweek shall pay:
(i) Five dollars sixty-five cents ($5.65) an hour beginning
January 1, 2007.
(ii) Six dollars sixty-five cents ($6.65) an hour beginning
July 1, 2007.
(2) Such employer shall pay the full amount of the minimum
wage under section 4(a)(8) beginning July 1, 2008.]
Section 2 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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