Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2023
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2023
This bill increases the federal minimum wage, permanently establishes the E-Verify system and requires its use, and contains other related provisions.
Specifically, the bill increases the minimum wage to $11 per hour, phased in over five years (six years for businesses with fewer than 20 employees), from the current rate of $7.25 per hour. The bill also phases in over three years an increase of the minimum wage for new employees younger than 20 years old from $4.25 to $6 per hour, and increases the length of time an employee may be paid this lower minimum wage. Both minimum wages shall be adjusted according to the rate of inflation every two years thereafter.
The bill also requires employers to use E-Verify to electronically verify the employment eligibility of new employees, with phased-in deadlines that generally require all employers to comply within 18 months of this bill's enactment. This bill provides for various requirements related to E-Verify, including requiring employers to examine and verify certain identifying documents belonging to the employee.
The bill increases civil penalties for various violations related to hiring, recruiting, and referring ineligible individuals. Repeated violators may be debarred from receiving federal contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements. The bill also increases criminal fines for violators that engage in a pattern or practice of violations.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on September 13, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 13, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced it on September 13, 2023, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 5 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 13, 2023, 1093 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1093 days ago, on September 13, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers