§ 206.
(a)
Employees engaged in commerce; home workers in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands; employees in American Samoa; seamen on American vessels; agricultural employees
Every employer shall pay to each of his employees 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, wages at the following rates:
(1)
except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than—
(A)
$5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after May 25, 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;
(2)
if such employee is a home worker in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, not less than the minimum piece rate prescribed by regulation or order; or, if no such minimum piece rate is in effect, any piece rate adopted by such employer which shall yield, to the proportion or class of employees prescribed by regulation or order, not less than the applicable minimum hourly wage rate. Such minimum piece rates or employer piece rates shall be commensurate with, and shall be paid in lieu of, the minimum hourly wage rate applicable under the provisions of this section. The Administrator, or his authorized representative, shall have power to make such regulations or orders as are necessary or appropriate to carry out any of the provisions of this paragraph, including the power without limiting the generality of the foregoing, to define any operation or occupation which is performed by such home work employees in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands; to establish minimum piece rates for any operation or occupation so defined; to prescribe the method and procedure for ascertaining and promulgating minimum piece rates; to prescribe standards for employer piece rates, including the proportion or class of employees who shall receive not less than the minimum hourly wage rate; to define the term “home worker”; and to prescribe the conditions under which employers, agents, contractors, and subcontractors shall cause goods to be produced by home workers;
(3)
if such employee is employed as a seaman on an American vessel, not less than the rate which will provide to the employee, for the period covered by the wage payment, wages equal to compensation at the hourly rate prescribed by paragraph (1) of this subsection for all hours during such period when he was actually on duty (including periods aboard ship when the employee was on watch or was, at the direction of a superior officer, performing work or standing by, but not including off-duty periods which are provided pursuant to the employment agreement); or
(4)
if such employee is employed in agriculture, not less than the minimum wage rate in effect under paragraph (1) after December 31, 1977.
(d)
Prohibition of sex discrimination
(1)
No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex: Provided, That an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee.
(2)
No labor organization, or its agents, representing employees of an employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall cause or attempt to cause such an employer to discriminate against an employee in violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3)
For purposes of administration and enforcement, any amounts owing to any employee which have been withheld in violation of this subsection shall be deemed to be unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime compensation under this chapter.
(4)
As used in this subsection, the term “labor organization” means any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work.
([June 25, 1938, ch. 676, § 6], [52 Stat. 1062]; [June 26, 1940, ch. 432, § 3(e)], (f), [54 Stat. 616]; [Oct. 26, 1949, ch. 736, § 6], [63 Stat. 912]; [Aug. 12, 1955, ch. 867, § 3], [69 Stat. 711]; [Aug. 8, 1956, ch. 1035, § 2], [70 Stat. 1118]; [Pub. L. 87–30, § 5], May 5, 1961, [75 Stat. 67]; [Pub. L. 88–38, § 3], June 10, 1963, [77 Stat. 56]; [Pub. L. 89–601, title III], §§ 301–305, Sept. 23, 1966, [80 Stat. 838], 839, 841; [Pub. L. 93–259], §§ 2–4, 5(b), 7(b)(1), Apr. 8, 1974, [88 Stat. 55], 56, 62; [Pub. L. 95–151, § 2(a)]–(d)(2), Nov. 1, 1977, [91 Stat. 1245], 1246; [Pub. L. 101–157], §§ 2, 4(b), Nov. 17, 1989, [103 Stat. 938], 940; [Pub. L. 101–239, title X, § 10208(d)(2)(B)(i)], Dec. 19, 1989, [103 Stat. 2481]; [Pub. L. 104–188], [title II], §§ 2104(b), (c), 2105(c), Aug. 20, 1996, [110 Stat. 1928], 1929; [Pub. L. 110–28, title VIII], §§ 8102(a), 8103(c)(1)(B), May 25, 2007, [121 Stat. 188], 189; [Pub. L. 114–187, title IV, § 403], June 30, 2016, [130 Stat. 586].)