(3) if such employee is employed in American Samoa, in lieu of the rate or rates provided by this subsection or subsection (b) of this section, not less than the applicable rate established by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with recommendations of a special industry committee or committees which he shall appoint pursuant to sections 205 and 208 of this title. The minimum wage rate thus established shall not exceed the rate prescribed in paragraph (1) of this subsection;The law that was just passed by the House says the following:
AN ACT
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for an increase in the Federal minimum wage.
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 `Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. MINIMUM WAGE.
(a) In General- Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
`(1) except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than--
`(A) $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after the date of enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007;
`(B) $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and
`(C) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day;'.
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY OF MINIMUM WAGE TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.
(a) In General- Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) shall apply to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(b) Transition- Notwithstanding subsection (a), the minimum wage applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)) shall be--
(1) $3.55 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) increased by $0.50 an hour (or such lesser amount as may be necessary to equal the minimum wage under section 6(a)(1) of such Act), beginning 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act and every 6 months thereafter until the minimum wage applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under this subsection is equal to the minimum wage set forth in such section. Passed the House of Representatives January 10, 2007.
It is the Northern Mariana Islands that is losing their exemption to the minimum wage, not American Samoa.
So American Samoa has always been excluded from federal legislation pertaining to the minimum wage and they're still excluding, is that how you're reading this?
Because that's how I'm reading this.
If only we allowed minimum wages to be determined solely by the states. then the states would get competitive, much like they do with tax rates, and all the red states that actually UNDERSTAND economics would get all the businesses. Then some of you trapped in Mass, NY, NJ could move to the red states with us!
(all in good humor, my Blue State FRiends...)
It appears they modified Section 206 without modifying 208, which results in the special rate for Samoa being retained.