# 119-s-4143: Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers Act of 2026

119-s-4143, Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4143
- As of: 2026-09-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4143
- Congress: 119
- Title: Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-03-19
- Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-17

## Summary

**Extend FLSA wage protections to incarcerated workers.** This bill would treat people who are incarcerated or detained and who perform work offered or required by a correctional facility as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act and bar counting board, lodging, facility charges, or most court-imposed fees toward the wages owed to those workers. - Incarcerated people: Would make them employees under FLSA when they work in prison work programs, work release, UNICOR, state prison industries, public works, restitution centers, facility operations, or in private-contracted work. Deductions for board, lodging, other facilities, and court-imposed fees would not count toward the statutory wage. - Private contractors: Private entities that operate correctional facility work programs under contract with a public agency would be treated as the employer for FLSA purposes and responsible for paying required wages. - Definitions and scope: The bill creates clear definitions for "incarcerated worker," "correctional facility," and "court-imposed fee." It specifies that court-imposed fees do not include child support, victim compensation funds, civil judgments, or criminal fines.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2026-09-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Fair wages for incarcerated workers: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would treat people who are incarcerated and doing work for a prison or jail as employees under federal wage laws. It would say the public agency running the facility, or a private contractor running it under contract, is the employer for FLSA rules. The bill would bar counting…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-4143 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4143)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4143 (as of 2026-09-17).