Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers

Summary#

This bill would change the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) so that people who are incarcerated and who perform work in a correctional facility are treated as employees. It adds a definition for “incarcerated worker” and says those workers are employed by the public agency that runs the facility or by a private company that runs the facility under contract. The bill lists kinds of work covered (for example, prison work programs, work release, UNICOR, state prison industries, facility operations). It also says that the value of board, lodging, or other facility costs and amounts taken to pay court-imposed fees cannot be counted as part of an incarcerated worker’s wage. The bill defines “court-imposed fee” and excludes certain payments (child support, victim compensation, civil judgments, and criminal fines) from that definition.

What it means for you#

• If you are an incarcerated person who does paid work in a correctional facility covered by this bill, you would be treated as an employee under the FLSA. That means your work is formally covered by the FLSA's wage rules.
• The employer would be the public agency running the facility or a private contractor running the facility.
• Employers may not count the cost of board, lodging, or other facility costs, or amounts taken for court-imposed fees, as part of the wages paid to you.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on estimated costs, budget impacts, or who would bear additional payroll or administrative costs.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.