<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><BillSummaries>
    <item congress="118" measure-type="s" measure-number="2785" measure-id="id118s2785" originChamber="SENATE" orig-publish-date="2023-09-13" update-date="2024-07-15">
        <title>Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2023</title>
        <summary summary-id="id118s2785v00" currentChamber="SENATE" update-date="2024-07-15">
            <action-date>2023-09-13</action-date>
            <action-desc>Introduced in Senate</action-desc>
            <summary-text><![CDATA[<p><strong>Higher Wages for American Workers Act of 2023</strong></p><p>This bill increases the federal minimum wage, permanently establishes the E-Verify system and requires its use, and contains other related provisions.</p><p>Specifically, the bill increases the minimum wage to $11 per hour, phased in over five years (six years for businesses with&nbsp;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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>]]></summary-text>
        </summary>
    </item>
    <dublinCore xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
        <dc:format>text/xml</dc:format>
        <dc:language>EN</dc:language>
        <dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
        <dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
        <dc:description>This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.</dc:description>
    </dublinCore>
</BillSummaries>
