Wednesday 30 July 2008
Critics of prison labor, he says, worry that it can take jobs from regular workers while not extending worker protections to the inmates. Few states pay inmates minimum wage, and only some – including California – provide workers comp. The legal justification for such exemptions, he says, grows weaker if the purpose is less rehabilitation than cost-savings. The pay differential does grate on the inmate firefighters, who hear the regular crews talk of buying boats with their pay checks. Battling California fires, inmates find a chance at better role ☀
