WKBT April 17, 2021 11:45 AM CAROL J. ALEXANDER of NerdWallet Posted: Updated: H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/TNS On June 25, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the landmark Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a federal minimum wage of $0.25 an hour. That's the equivalent of $4.63 in 2021 dollars. Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/TNS One year after it was established, the federal minimum wage was raised to $0.30 an hour. The value of that amount in 2021 is $5.64. The federal minimum wage remained $0.30 in 1940, amounting to $5.68 in 2021 dollars. Fred Ramage/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/TNS In 1941, the value of the $0.30 federal minimum remained consistent. Adjusted for inflation today, it would be worth $5.60 an hour.