Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced
Summary
Extends the Fair Labor Standards Act to cover incarcerated workers so they get federal wage protections. It defines who counts as an incarcerated worker and says certain prison costs and many court-imposed fees cannot be treated as wages for those workers.
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- People who work while incarcerated are treated as FLSA employees, including workers in prison work programs, work release, UNICOR, state prison industries, public works, and private operations under contract. This brings federal minimum-wage and overtime protections to those jobs.
- The public agency running a correctional facility or a private company operating a facility under contract is the employer for FLSA purposes. Those employers must calculate pay without counting board, lodging, facility costs, or most court-imposed fees as wages.
- The bill adds clear definitions for “incarcerated worker,” “correctional facility,” and “court-imposed fee,” and lists examples and exclusions. It does not create new funding or separate enforcement programs beyond existing FLSA authorities.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Incarcerated workers gain wage protections
If enacted, the bill would treat people who are incarcerated and who do work in a correctional facility as "employees" under the Fair Labor Standards Act. That would make federal rules like minimum wage, overtime pay, and recordkeeping apply to work done in prison work programs, work release, UNICOR, state prison industries, facility operations, and private-contractor jobs. The public agency that runs the facility, or the private contractor running it under contract, would be treated as the employer for those rules. The bill would also say the value of board, lodging, other facilities, and amounts taken to pay court-imposed fees must not be counted as "wages" for incarcerated workers. These changes would take effect upon enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov