Sponsors
The bill extends federal wage protections and employer accountability to incarcerated workers—raising pay and clarifying coverage—while increasing public and contractor costs and creating potential administrative and programmatic trade-offs that could reduce some work opportunities.
Incarcerated people (particularly low-income individuals and racial/ethnic minorities) would be entitled to FLSA protections—minimum wage and overtime—raising pay and basic labor protections for work done in custody.
Public and private correctional employers would be legally responsible for paying required wages, increasing accountability for labor standards in prisons and detention facilities.
The bill clarifies key definitions (e.g., what constitutes a correctional facility and which court-imposed fees are distinct from wage claims), reducing legal uncertainty about coverage and fee treatment.
State and local taxpayers (and government budgets) could face higher costs to pay incarcerated workers at FLSA rates and for overtime.
Private contractors operating facilities may pass increased labor costs onto governments or cut/scale back work programs and services, potentially reducing work opportunities for incarcerated people and harming small contractors.
Separating and clarifying court-imposed fees from wage claims could create wage-offset or garnishment disputes and additional administrative burdens for workers, courts, and correctional payroll systems.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 19, 2026 by Cory Anthony Booker · Last progress March 19, 2026
Adds people who are incarcerated and who do work through a correctional facility to the statutory definition of “employee” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It treats work performed in public prisons, jails, and in privately operated facilities under contract with public agencies as falling within FLSA coverage and provides new definitions for key terms used in that coverage.