<P> By a vote of 382 to 37, the House of Representatives approved a revised bill that would increase the minimum wage to $3.80 per hour as of April, 1990, and $4.25 per hour as of April 1, 1991 . The bill would allow a lower minimum wage for employees who are less than twenty years old . The bill eliminated different minimum wages for retail and non-retail businesses . The next week, the Senate approved the bill by a vote of 89 to 8 . Senators Orrin Hatch, Steve Symms, and Phil Gramm were unsuccessful at passing minimum - wage exemptions for small businesses and farmers using migrant or seasonal workers . President Bush signed the bill two weeks later . </P> <P> The 1996 amendment increased the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour . However, the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 (PL 104 - 188), which provided the minimum - wage increase, also detached tipped employees from future minimum - wage increases . Prior to 1996, tipped employees received 50% of the prevailing minimum wage . The tipped employee minimum wage was frozen, under federal law at least, at $2.13 per hour (29 U.S.C. § 203). State laws that grant higher hourly wages remain in force . </P> <P> On August 23, 2004, controversial changes to exemptions from the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime requirements went into effect, making substantial modifications to the definition of an "exempt" employee . Low - level working supervisors throughout American industries were reclassified as "executives" and lost overtime rights . The changes were sought by business interests, which claimed that the laws needed clarification and that few workers would be affected . The Bush administration called the new regulations "FairPay". However, other organizations, such as the AFL - CIO, claimed the changes would make millions of additional workers ineligible to obtain relief under the FLSA for overtime pay . Attempts in Congress to overturn the new regulations were unsuccessful . </P> <P> Conversely, some low - level employees (particularly administrative - support staff) that had previously been classified as exempt were now reclassified as non-exempt . Although such employees work in positions bearing titles previously used to determine exempt status (such as "executive assistant"), the 2004 amendment to the FLSA now requires that an exemption must be predicated upon actual job function and not job title . Employees with job titles that previously allowed exemption but whose job descriptions did not include managerial functions were now reclassified from exempt to non-exempt . </P>

7(b)(2) of the fair labor standards act of 1938