Residents employed to provide services or renovation or conversion work funded under this program shall be paid at a rate not less than the highest of:

(a) The minimum wage that would be applicable to the employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), if section 6(a)(1) of the FLSA applied to the resident and if the resident were not exempt under section 13 of the FLSA;

(b) The State or local minimum wage for the most nearly comparable covered employment; or

(c) The prevailing rate of pay for persons employed in similar public occupations by the same employer.