WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by October 2025 - a big win for American workers and labor groups - even as the bill passing a Republican-controlled Senate remain unlikely.

The Democratic-majority House approved the legislation titled Raise the Wage Act, in a vote of 231-199. The bill increases entry-level wages for millions of American workers from the current $7.25 an hour - a level that has remained unchanged since 2009.