Senate Bill 326, titled the Economic Security Act, is a broad labor, employment, tax, unemployment, and retirement measure. It would raise North Carolina’s minimum wage to $22 per hour beginning January 1, 2026, with annual inflation adjustments thereafter, and it would also increase the tipped minimum wage. The bill creates a state Equal Pay Act, expands wage-payment and wage-theft remedies, and adds stronger notice, enforcement, damages, and lien provisions for unpaid wages. It also establishes paid sick leave for most workers, workplace heat-safety and emergency-evacuation protections, and anti-retaliation rights for employees who refuse unsafe work in certain emergencies.
The bill further changes public-sector hiring and labor policy by creating a “ban the box” framework for public employment, limiting when criminal history may be considered, and requiring data collection and reporting on applicants with criminal histories. It would repeal North Carolina’s statutory prohibition on collective bargaining agreements between government employers and labor organizations, and it would reenact a state earned income tax credit while creating a new child and dependent care tax credit. In addition, it would increase unemployment insurance weekly benefits and direct a study of coverage for self-employed and app-based gig workers.
The bill also creates a rebuttable presumption that certain first responders, health care workers, and essential workers who contract a pandemic infection did so in the course of employment for workers’ compensation purposes. Finally, it provides a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for retirees in several state and local retirement systems and appropriates $250 million in recurring General Fund money to support that adjustment.
Because no committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, there is no documented debate history in the materials supplied. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears strongly pro-worker and pro-retiree, with an emphasis on wage growth, leave benefits, safety protections, and public benefits. The breadth of the proposal suggests it would have significant fiscal and administrative effects on employers, state agencies, local governments, and retirement systems.
The most likely points of contention are the large increase in the minimum wage, the new paid sick leave mandate, expanded employer liability and enforcement tools, the repeal of public-employee collective bargaining restrictions, and the recurring $250 million appropriation for retiree COLAs. Employers and public-sector management interests would likely focus on compliance costs and operational impacts, while labor, worker-advocacy, and retiree groups would likely support the bill’s wage, leave, safety, and benefit expansions.
The bill would substantially amend multiple chapters of the North Carolina General Statutes, especially the Wage and Hour Act, workers’ compensation law, unemployment insurance law, public employment law, and state tax law. It would create new statutory rights for employees, including higher minimum wages, paid sick leave, equal pay protections, wage-theft remedies, heat-safety and emergency protections, and limits on criminal-history screening in public hiring. It would also alter remedies and enforcement by authorizing civil actions, liquidated damages, statutory damages, liens for unpaid wages, and expanded Labor Department authority. In addition, it would restore or create tax credits and require a recurring appropriation to fund retiree COLAs, directly affecting employers, employees, public agencies, taxpayers, and retirement-system beneficiaries.
No committee discussion or votes were provided, so there is no recorded legislative sentiment in the supplied history. The bill’s text indicates a strongly pro-worker, pro-retiree policy direction, with extensive wage, leave, safety, and benefit expansions. Its scope and fiscal commitments suggest it would likely draw strong support from labor and employee advocates and strong scrutiny or opposition from business, local government, and fiscal conservatives concerned about costs and mandates.
The most notable likely points of contention are the proposed $22 minimum wage, mandatory paid sick leave, expanded wage-theft penalties and liens, and the repeal of the ban on public-sector collective bargaining. Employers may object to the compliance burden, increased labor costs, and litigation exposure, while supporters would emphasize wage security and workplace protections. The $250 million recurring appropriation for retiree COLAs and the broader expansion of unemployment and tax credits could also be controversial because of their budget impact. Public-sector hiring restrictions on criminal history and the pandemic workers’ compensation presumption may also prompt debate over fairness, liability, and administrative feasibility.