Subminimum Wages in New York State Prisons
Roughly 70-80% of people incarcerated in the United States have work assignments during their incarceration. This explainer provides an overview of sub-minimum wage employment for incarcerated individuals in New York State (NYS).
Industry vs. Non-Industry Work
Work assignments generally fall between “industry” or “non-industry” jobs. Industry jobs can mean manufacturing signs, furniture, janitorial supplies, garments, license plates, etc. It can also entail work in agriculture and other sectors. Non-industry jobs often amount to “prison-support” work like cooking, cleaning, clerical work, laundry, or maintenance chores.
Industry jobs are typically higher paying and more difficult to obtain. It is estimated that only 6% of incarcerated individuals have industry jobs, earning between $0.33 and $1.41 per hour on average. The nationwide average wage for non-industry jobs is $0.86 per hour and has decreased over the past two decades. Some states do not pay any wage for non-industry jobs. Regardless of the type of job, meager wages are the norm for prison work. How about in NYS?
Non-Industry Wages in NYS
Non-industry jobs are by far the most common type of work for incarcerated individuals in NYS. While NYS is not among the states that provide zero wages for non-industry work in state prisons, incarcerated individuals working non-industry jobs in NYS make between $0.10 and $0.33 per hour. This is significantly below the nationwide average of $0.86 per hour. Meanwhile, NYS has the third highest cost of living in the United States.
NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) set the hourly pay rates, seen below:
| Grade 1 | Step 1 | $0.10 |
|---|---|---|
| Step 2 | $0.12 | |
| Step 3 | $0.13 | |
| Grade 2 | Step 1 | $0.16 |
| Step 2 | $0.18 | |
| Grade 3 | Step 1 | $0.20 |
| Step 2 | $0.22 | |
| Grade 4 | Step 1 | $0.24 |
| Step 2 | $0.26 | |
| Grade 5 | Step 1 | $0.33 |
Even the most tenured, qualified and productive workers (Grade 5) receive pennies on the hour. A small number of jobs classified as “Grade 5” are paid a flat rate of $2 per day. This is the high end of the required pay scale for non-industry jobs. A facility can have only one Grade 5 individual for every 300 incarcerated individuals.
These wages have also stagnated for decades, with the last significant pay increases happening in 1993. Accounting for inflation, the current pay grades are worth less than half what they were worth over twenty years ago. Additionally, under NYS law, state prisons have historically been authorized to withhold incarceration fees (not to exceed $1 per week) to “to help defray the cost of incarceration” (note: this provision was repealed in December 2022).
Corcraft
In NYS, industry work assignments are administered by the Division of Correctional Industries, otherwise known as Corcraft, an entity within DOCCS. Corcraft manufactures products in 14 state correctional facilities and operates two call centers for the Department of Motor Vehicles, employing approximately 2,000 incarcerated individuals. Importantly, this is only a fraction of the 31,000 incarcerated workers in the state.
Pay for state-run industry jobs in NYS is marginally higher than for non-industry jobs. Corcraft pays prison employees as little as $0.16 per hour and as much as $1.30 per hour as a “productivity bonus.” Again, this is at the low end of pay ranges for state-owned industry jobs nationally (which range from $0.33 to $1.41 per hour).
Corcraft makes over $50 million in sales annually. Net sales from fiscal year 2019 totaled $63.6 million. By law, Corcraft is exempt from participating in the competitive bid process, and local governments are obligated to purchase Corcraft commodities as a preferred source. As such, Corcraft has a near monopoly over the municipal institution market.
The Importance of Reform
The U.S. is a global outlier among nations with comparable economic development and worker protections. One study of prison wages in three European countries found that French inmates worked an average of 30 hours per week in industry jobs, earning €3.40 per hour (≈ $3.67 per hour). Even in Germany and England, where wages were found to be lower, the average wages for prison labor typically exceed U.S. $1.00 per hour.
Incarcerated workers in U.S. prisons cannot form unions, access workers’ compensation for job-related injuries, pay into social insurance, or benefit from federal employment rights protections. Incarcerated individuals are required to enter quasi-contractual agreements binding only to the worker. Individuals are often required to participate in their assigned work programs and face discipline if they refuse. In NYS, incarcerated individuals are expected to accept a work assignment and work approximately six hours per day, five days per week.
Wages for prison work are a crucial area of reform, in part because of the significant overlap between poverty and incarceration. 45% of incarcerated individuals reported having no earnings before entering a correctional environment, while an additional 35% reported having earnings below $15,000 per year.
Additionally, incarcerated individuals and their families often bear significant legal and cost-of-living expenses, including surcharges, bail, restitution, and attorneys’ fees to travel for visitation, phone calls and commissary. About half of incarcerated individuals have dependent children.
Returning to the topic of cost of living, it is therefore inappropriate to view prison wages as removed from the broader economy and from cost-of-living considerations.
Image by Rusty Clark via flickr, CC-BY-2.0
