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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana House Bill 209 establishes a state minimum wage starting at $10 per hour in 2027 and scaling to $14 by 2031
Last action · March 9, 2026: Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.Sponsor: Delisha Boyd
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 209 establishes a state minimum wage starting at $10 per hour on January 1, 2027, increasing to $12 per hour on January 1, 2029, and reaching $14 per hour on January 1, 2031. The measure allows employees to file civil lawsuits for wage violations to recover unpaid wages, attorney fees, and court costs, while exempting private student employees, tipped workers, and agricultural employees.
Establishes a legally enforceable pay floor for workers across the state, creating new civil penalties for employers who underpay and requiring courts to track and report wage violation lawsuits to state labor authorities.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Employees in Louisiana
Workers stand to receive guaranteed hourly wage floors scaling to $14 by 2031 and gain a civil right of action to sue employers for underpayment.
Private employers
Employers must adjust employee compensation to meet or exceed scheduled hourly wage thresholds and face potential civil liability, attorney fees, and court costs for non-compliance.
Louisiana Works
The agency is tasked with enforcing the chapter, collecting monthly court dockets, promulgating administrative rules, and submitting an annual violation report to the legislature and governor.
City, parish, and district clerks of court
Clerks are required to maintain a record docket of all wage violation cases filed under the chapter and submit those dockets monthly to Louisiana Works.
Key Facts
- The state minimum wage is set at $10.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2027.
- The state minimum wage increases to $12.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2029.
- The state minimum wage increases to $14.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2031.
- If the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act exceeds the state rate, the state minimum wage automatically matches the federal rate.
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- Employees have a civil right of action for damages against employers who violate minimum wage requirements to recover back pay, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs.
- Civil lawsuits for wage violations must be filed within one year from the date the employee becomes aware of the violation.
- City, parish, and district clerks of court must maintain case dockets for wage violation lawsuits and submit them monthly to Louisiana Works beginning February 1, 2027.
- Louisiana Works must compile an annual report of violating employers, affected employee counts, and violation amounts, submitting it to the governor and legislative labor committees starting March 1, 2028.
- Private student employees, tipped employees, and agricultural employees as defined by federal law are exempt from the state minimum wage requirements.
- Louisiana Works is authorized to enforce the chapter and promulgate rules under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are any workers exempt from this state minimum wage?
What can an employee do if an employer pays less than the required minimum wage?
Who enforces these minimum wage rules?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
- Feb 20, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/20/2026.
- Feb 19, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 19, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of State-Mandated Minimum Wage Floor
The bill creates a formal state minimum wage framework with automatic federal linkage and structured multiannual increments up to $14 per hour.
Mandatory Judicial Reporting of Wage Violations
Clerks of court across city, parish, and district levels are required to track and monthly report wage violation dockets to Louisiana Works.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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