Sen. Cory Booker (DN.J.) introduced a package of bills Friday to address unfair labor practices in America’s prison system. The law, carved into four packages, addresses discrimination in the workplace, safety and health in prisons, job opportunities for inmates, and fair wages.
“The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery ‘except as a punishment for crime,’ but this language has enabled and expanded the exploitation of those incarcerated in our nation’s prisons,” Booker said in a statement.
At Law on Occupational Safety and Health of Correctional Facilities would require state and local correctional facilities to treat incarcerated workers as employees and submit regular reports on workplace and worker safety, as well as require the Federal Bureau of Prisons to implement safety and health programs and file annual reports on them.
In addition, it would create a grant program to enable state and local governments to set up health and safety plans to cover incarcerated workers.
Another part of the legislation will be key to improving educational and job opportunities in US prisons to help incarcerated people transition into society after they are released from serving time.
At Guaranteeing Employment Opportunities in Correctional Facilities Act will provide $210 million from 2024 to 2029 for job training and education programs at the Bureau of Prisons.
Number of programs in Prison Industry Improvement Certification The program will increase from 50 to 100, allowing more incarcerated people to access private sector and professional job training for opportunities to earn better wages.
Booker’s package also addresses workplace discrimination and would remove “work refusal” from the list of inmate behaviors that the Bureau of Prisons can use to justify sanctions such as disciplinary segregation, monetary fines, loss of earned time, and parole delays.
Correctional facilities must also comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act.
The legislative package follows Booker’s previous efforts on criminal justice reform, such as sponsoring the Next Steps Act in 2019 and sponsoring the First Steps Act in 2018, which became law.
The new law was endorsed by several groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
“Because fair labor standards are almost non-existent in US prisons, incarcerated people are often forced to work in harsh and unsafe conditions. They work for little or no pay, making on average between 13 and 52 cents an hour in most jobs ,” Booker said. “The current conditions of prison workers in America are inhumane and unacceptable.”