When the Fair Labor Standards Act began in 1938, the U.S. federal minimum wage was 25 cents per hour.
The law was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1938. Its initial wage floor applied to workers covered by the statute and was scheduled to rise to 30 cents after seven months. The act also established overtime rules and restrictions on child labor.
Twenty-five cents was a national federal rate, but coverage was not universal. Many workers, particularly in agriculture, domestic service, and small local businesses, were outside the law's original coverage. The nominal amount also had far more purchasing power than the same number of cents would have today.
A common mix-up is treating the 1938 starting rate as the law's permanent rate. Congress later amended the statute repeatedly, raising the federal minimum and expanding its coverage.