Bill Text: NY S00439 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Amended

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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-23 - PRINT NUMBER 439A [S00439 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00439-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         439--A

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  MYRIE,  BAILEY,  COMRIE, GONZALEZ, HOYLMAN-SIGAL,
          JACKSON, KAVANAGH, KRUEGER, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR,  SANDERS,  SERRANO
          -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
          the  Committee  on  Crime  Victims,  Crime and Correction -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        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 amended by
     4  chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
     5    3.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law, an incarcerated indi-
     6  vidual may be permitted to leave the institution under guard  to  volun-
     7  tarily  perform  work  for  a nonprofit organization; provided that each
     8  incarcerated individual who volunteers to perform work for  a  nonprofit
     9  organization shall be compensated for their labor in accordance with the
    10  provisions  of  subdivision  four of section one hundred eighty-seven of
    11  this article. As used in this section, the term "nonprofit organization"
    12  means an organization operated exclusively for religious, charitable, or
    13  educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the
    14  benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
    15    § 3. Section 171 of the correction law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    16  subdivision 3 to read as follows:
    17    3.  Any  incarcerated individual performing labor as described in this
    18  section shall be compensated for their  labor  in  accordance  with  the
    19  provisions  of  subdivision  five of section one hundred eighty-seven of
    20  this article.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01730-02-5
        S. 439--A                           2

     1    § 4. Subdivision 7 of section 177 of the correction law, as renumbered
     2  by chapter 256 of the laws of 2010, is renumbered subdivision  8  and  a
     3  new subdivision 7 is added to read as follows:
     4    7.  Any  incarcerated individual performing labor as described in this
     5  section shall be compensated for their  labor  in  accordance  with  the
     6  provisions  of  subdivision  five of section one hundred eighty-seven of
     7  this article.
     8    § 5. Section 178 of the correction law, as amended by chapter  322  of
     9  the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
    10    §  178.  Participation in work release and other community activities.
    11  1. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed or applied so as
    12  to prohibit private employment of incarcerated individuals in the commu-
    13  nity under a work release program, or a residential  treatment  facility
    14  program formulated pursuant to any provision of this chapter.
    15    2.  Any  incarcerated  individual who is employed under a work release
    16  program or a residential treatment facility program formulated  pursuant
    17  to any provision of this chapter shall be compensated for their labor in
    18  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  subdivision  five  of section one
    19  hundred eighty-seven of this article.
    20    § 6. Section 184 of the correction law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    21  subdivision 3 to read as follows:
    22    3.  Any  incarcerated  individual performing work as described in this
    23  section shall be compensated for their  labor  in  accordance  with  the
    24  provisions  of  subdivision  five of section one hundred eighty-seven of
    25  this article.
    26    § 7. Section 186 of the correction law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    27  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    28    5. Any service performed by an incarcerated individual as described in
    29  this  section  shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of
    30  subdivision five of section one hundred eighty-seven of this article.
    31    § 8. Section 187 of the correction law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    32  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    33    5.  Notwithstanding  any  provision  of law, rule or regulation to the
    34  contrary, no incarcerated individual shall be compensated an amount that
    35  is less than one-half of the minimum wage established by  article  nine-
    36  teen  of  the  labor  law for work performed or work for which a wage is
    37  paid. As used in this subdivision, "work  for  which  a  wage  is  paid"
    38  includes  any  task  assigned  to an incarcerated individual for which a
    39  wage would have been due except for  their  status  as  an  incarcerated
    40  individual.
    41    §  9.  Subdivisions  2  and 3 of section 200 of the correction law, as
    42  amended by chapter 322 of the laws of  2021,  are  amended  to  read  as
    43  follows:
    44    2.  In lieu of the system of labor in correctional institutions estab-
    45  lished by this article, the commissioner [may] shall, in order to facil-
    46  itate an incarcerated individual's eventual reintegration into  society,
    47  establish  for the incarcerated individuals in one or more state correc-
    48  tional institutions a  system  of  educational,  career  and  industrial
    49  training programs, and of incentive allowances for each such program.
    50    3. For each institution wherein such system is established the commis-
    51  sioner  shall  prepare, and may at times revise, graded incentive allow-
    52  ance schedules for the incarcerated individuals within each such program
    53  based upon the levels of performance and achievement by an  incarcerated
    54  individual  in  a  program  to  which  [he  or  she  has] they have been
    55  assigned.  Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, or regulation  to
    56  the  contrary, no incarcerated individual shall receive an hourly incen-
        S. 439--A                           3

     1  tive allowance that is less than one-half of  the  minimum  wage  estab-
     2  lished  by  article  nineteen of the labor law. Upon the approval of the
     3  director of the budget  such  schedules  or  revisions  thereof  may  be
     4  promulgated.
     5    §  10.  This  act  shall  take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
     6  after it shall have become a law. Effective  immediately  the  addition,
     7  amendment  and/or  repeal  of  any  rule or regulation necessary for the
     8  implementation of this act on its effective date are  authorized  to  be
     9  made and completed on or before such date.