The minimum wage would be raised to $25 an hour under a new bill introduced by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT).
The proposal is called “The Living Wage for All Act.”
It would be the largest federal minimum wage increase in U.S. history.
“There is no reason that somebody should go to work full-time and not be able to pay their bills. There’s no excuse for it in a world where we just created the first trillionaire,” Murphy said at the announcement of the legislation he has introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday.
He said about 45% of American workers currently make less than $25 an hour.
Murphy’s proposal would increase the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 an hour, set in 2009, beginning at $12 an hour and gradually reaching $25 over several years, with larger employers facing a faster timeline.
It complements a similar bill that was introduced in the U.S. House in April.
