Youth Opportunity Wage Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
Youth Opportunity Wage Act of 1979 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to allow employers to employ youths between 16 and 20 years of age, without prior or special certification by the Secretary of Labor, at 85 percent of the minimum wage (or the applicable wage in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands) for 180 days, with the exception of youths employed by an employer at the minimum wage before the enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to insure against violations of such provisions. Prohibits employers from engaging in a pattern and practice of: (1) substituting younger workers employed at less than the minimum wage for older workers employed at or above the minimum wage; or (2) terminating the employment of some youths and employing other youths in order to gain continual advantage from the youth opportunity wage. Establishes rates of compensation and fines for such violations. Eliminates special subminimum wage provisions for full-time students.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 9, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 9, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ADLAI STEVENSON (D-IL) introduced it on May 9, 1979, and 8 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 6 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 9, 1979, 17291 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17291 days ago, on May 9, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers