Sponsors (26)
Official title: Amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 to prevent wage theft and assist in the recovery of stolen wages, to authorize the Secretary of Labor to administer grants to prevent wage and hour violations, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 24, 2026 by Patty Murray · Last progress June 24, 2026
The bill substantially strengthens worker protections, pay transparency, and enforcement—making it much easier for low-wage and vulnerable workers to recover stolen wages—but does so at the cost of higher compliance and litigation burdens, increased governmental and taxpayer expenditures, and added financial pressure on some employers (especially small businesses).
Low-wage and vulnerable workers (including women, immigrants, and racial minorities) will be more likely to recover unpaid wages because the bill strengthens enforcement, expands remedies and penalties, extends limitations, and provides presumptions/record access that make wage claims easier to win.
Employees will get clearer, regular pay information and timelier final pay (regular paystubs, disclosures in the employee's primary language, digital delivery option, and set final-pay deadlines), improving pay transparency and making underpayment easier to detect.
Workers in high-noncompliance or low-wage industries will gain funded local assistance, outreach, and education (grants to community groups/nonprofits and targeted campaigns) that helps them learn rights and file claims.
Small businesses and some employers will face materially higher compliance costs, greater liability exposure, and potential downstream effects on prices, hiring, or hours because of new disclosure, recordkeeping, penalty, and damages requirements (including treble/duplicative damages).
The bill is likely to substantially increase litigation and legal costs—longer statutes of limitations, tolling during investigations, prohibition of predispute arbitration/class-action waivers, and stronger remedies will generate more claims and court activity.
Federal, state, and local governments will need more administrative resources and staffing to run expanded enforcement, investigative activity, and grant programs, creating budgetary pressure and potential taxpayer costs.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Adds required hire/change disclosures and paystubs, mandates timely final pay, extends FLSA limitation periods, creates penalties, and funds DOL grants to assist wage-recovery efforts.
Requires employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act to give workers written (or digital) disclosures at hire and when pay/classification changes, regular paystubs with detailed pay information, and timely final pay when employment ends. It lengthens federal statute-of-limitations for wage claims, creates civil remedies and penalties for failures, and funds a new Department of Labor grant program to support community partners and enforcement activities to prevent wage theft and help workers recover unpaid wages. The bill directs the Secretary of Labor to issue implementing regulations within 18 months and sets an effective date that is the earlier of six months after final regulations or 18 months after enactment. It also tolls limitation periods while the Department investigates and allows grants to eligible entities for outreach, claims assistance, joint investigations, monitoring, training, and other enforcement-support activities.