PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 16, 2023
Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers Act of 2023
This bill extends the protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, including minimum wage requirements, to incarcerated workers.
Incarcerated workers include individuals detained in a correctional facility who perform work offered or required by or through the correctional facility, including work associated with prison work programs, work release programs, federal prison industries (i.e., UNICOR program), state prison industries, public works programs, restitution centers, correctional facility operations and maintenance, and private entities.
People & committees
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] · D–NJ
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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Analyze S.516 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.516 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.516 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.516 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.