Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB2785

Introduced
9/13/23  

Caption

Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2023

Impact

The implementation of this bill will significantly affect federal labor laws by raising the minimum wage benchmark and mandating the use of E-Verify for all employers. This mandatory E-Verify system is intended to prevent unauthorized employment, enhancing the integrity of the labor market. Employers will be required to verify the employment eligibility of all potential hires, helping to eradicate illegal immigration practices that undermine lawful job opportunities for U.S. workers. Furthermore, states that do not comply with E-Verify standards risk losing federal funding.

Summary

SB2785, the Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2023, aims to gradually increase the federal minimum wage while establishing a permanent E-Verify employment eligibility verification system. The bill specifies scheduled increases to the minimum wage, starting at $8.00 per hour and moving to $11.00 over a period of five years. This legislation emphasizes the need for better labor conditions for workers across the nation and seeks to alleviate poverty by providing a living wage to employees.

Contention

There are notable points of contention surrounding this bill. Supporters argue that increasing the minimum wage will lead to higher living standards for low-income workers and stimulate economic growth through increased consumer spending. Conversely, opponents raise concerns about the economic impact on small businesses that may struggle to adjust to higher wage mandates. Additionally, the mandatory E-Verify system faces criticism over privacy rights and claims that it could lead to unjust employment practices, such as discrimination against certain groups during the hiring process.

Companion Bills

US SB4529

Related Mandatory E-Verify Act of 2024

Similar Bills

US HB319

Legal Workforce Act This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after and to replace the E-Verify system, which allows employers and recruiters to verify the immigration status of individuals. The bill also mandates the use of such a system, where currently only some employers, such as those with federal contracts, are required to use E-Verify. The bill specifies documents that can establish an individual's identity and employment authorization. During the period starting when a job offer is made until three business days after hiring, the individual must attest to his or her employment authorization, and the employer or recruiter must attest that it has examined the individual's required documents. Employers shall reverify certain types of employees who were not previously verified using E-verify. The Social Security Administration shall notify employees if their Social Security number has been used multiple times in an unusual manner. DHS shall establish programs for blocking and suspending misused numbers. Employers that are required to use the verification system shall not be liable for any employment-related action based on a good-faith reliance on the information from the system. The bill establishes a phased-in participation deadline for different categories of employers, including agricultural employers. The bill increases civil penalties related to hiring individuals without work authorization. It also preempts state laws relating to hiring and employment eligibility verification, but states may use their authority of business licensing to penalize employers for failing to comply with the bill's provisions.

US SB156

Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act

US HB2640

Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023 Legal Workforce Act Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2023 Visa Overstays Penalties Act Protection of Children Act of 2023 Ensuring United Families at the Border Act Border Safety and Migrant Protection Act of 2023 Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2023

US HB4319

Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2023 Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2023

US HB2

Secure the Border Act of 2023 This bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility. For example, the bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border; provides statutory authorization for Operation Stonegarden, which provides grants to law enforcement agencies for certain border security operations; prohibits DHS from processing the entry of non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) arriving between ports of entry; limits asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry; authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual's country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal; expands the types of crimes that may make an individual ineligible for asylum, such as a conviction for driving while intoxicated causing another person's serious bodily injury or death; authorizes DHS to suspend the introduction of certain non-U.S. nationals at an international border if DHS determines that the suspension is necessary to achieve operational control of that border; prohibits states from imposing licensing requirements on immigration detention facilities used to detain minors; authorizes immigration officers to permit an unaccompanied alien child to withdraw their application for admission into the United States even if the child is unable to make an independent decision to withdraw the application; imposes additional penalties for overstaying a visa; and requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.

US SB2824

Secure the Border Act of 2023

US HB3599

DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2023 Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2023 American Promise Act Transnational Criminal Organization Prevention and Elimination Act Protecting Sensitive Locations Act Dream Act Legal Workforce Act American Prosperity and Competitiveness Act H–2B Returning Worker Exception Act American Dream and Promise Act Border Security for America Act

US SB4529

Mandatory E-Verify Act of 2024