Don’t STEAL Act

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