Bill Text: NY A11317 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Enacts "the prison minimum wage act" relating to payment for labor performed by inmates.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-08-29 - referred to correction [A11317 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A11317-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          11317
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     August 29, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON  RULES  --  (at request of M. of A. Perry,
          Barron, De La Rosa, Epstein) -- read once and referred to the  Commit-
          tee on Correction
        AN  ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to enacting "the prison
          minimum wage act"
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  This  act  shall be known and may be cited as "the prison
     2  minimum wage act".
     3    § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 170 of the correction law, as  added  by
     4  chapter 256 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
     5    3.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law,  an inmate may be
     6  permitted to leave the institution under guard  to  voluntarily  perform
     7  work  for a nonprofit organization; provided that each inmate who volun-
     8  teers to perform work for a nonprofit organization shall be paid a mini-
     9  mum hourly wage of not less than three dollars. The department shall  be
    10  entitled  to  charge the nonprofit organization a reasonable hourly rate
    11  for meals and housing of  such  prisoners,  if  any.  As  used  in  this
    12  section,  the  term "nonprofit organization" means an organization oper-
    13  ated exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes,  no
    14  part  of  the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private
    15  shareholder or individual.
    16    § 3. Section 171 of the correction law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    17  subdivision 3 to read as follows:
    18    3.  Any  inmate performing labor as described in this section shall be
    19  compensated for his or her labor in accordance with  the  provisions  of
    20  subdivision five of section one hundred eighty-seven of this article.
    21    §  4.  Section  177  of  the correction law is amended by adding a new
    22  subdivision 8 to read as follows:
    23    8. Any inmate performing labor as described in this section  shall  be
    24  compensated  for  his  or her labor in accordance with the provisions of
    25  subdivision five of section one hundred eighty-seven of this article.
    26    § 5. Section 178 of the correction law, as added by chapter 476 of the
    27  laws of 1970, is amended to read as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16385-04-8

        A. 11317                            2
     1    § 178. Participation in work release and other  community  activities.
     2  1. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed or applied so as
     3  to  prohibit private employment of inmates in the community under a work
     4  release program, or a residential treatment facility program  formulated
     5  pursuant to any provision of this chapter.
     6    2.  Any inmate who is employed under a work release program or a resi-
     7  dential treatment facility program formulated pursuant to any  provision
     8  of  this chapter shall be compensated for his or her labor in accordance
     9  with the provisions of subdivision five of section one  hundred  eighty-
    10  seven of this article.
    11    §  6.  Section  184  of  the correction law is amended by adding a new
    12  subdivision 3 to read as follows:
    13    3. Any inmate performing work as described in this  section  shall  be
    14  compensated  for  his  or her labor in accordance with the provisions of
    15  subdivision five of section one hundred eighty-seven of this article.
    16    § 7. Section 186 of the correction law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    17  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    18    5.  Any  service  performed  by an inmate as described in this section
    19  shall be compensated in accordance with the  provisions  of  subdivision
    20  five of section one hundred eighty-seven of this article.
    21    §  8.  Section  187  of  the correction law is amended by adding a new
    22  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    23    5. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule  or  regulation  to  the
    24  contrary,  no  inmate  shall  be compensated an amount that is less than
    25  three dollars an hour for work performed or work for  which  a  wage  is
    26  paid.  As  used  in  this  subdivision,  "work for which a wage is paid"
    27  includes any task assigned to an inmate for which a wage would have been
    28  due except for his or her status as an inmate.
    29    § 9. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    30  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the  addition,  amend-
    31  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    32  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or
    33  before such date.
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