Relates to incarcerated individuals wages; provides that incarcerated individuals shall be compensated at a base rate of $1.20 to $10 per day and shall be given biannual raises for adequate performance; provides that incarcerated individuals not participating in a work or program assignment due to age or frailty shall be paid $1.00 per day, adjusted every 5 years for cost of living.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7165
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CHANDLER-WATERMAN -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to incarcerated individ-
uals wages
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 187 of the correction law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
3 5. Incarcerated individuals shall be compensated for all work and
4 program assignments at a base rate of compensation of one dollar twenty
5 cents to ten dollars per day and shall be given biannual raises for
6 adequate performance in such assignments. An incarcerated individual
7 working in a manufacturing or industrial assignment shall receive
8 compensation of five to ten dollars per day for the duration of the time
9 such incarcerated individual works in such assignment and shall revert
10 to such incarcerated individual's previous rate of compensation once
11 they are no longer working in such assignment. Unless an incarcerated
12 individual is leaving such manufacturing or industrial assignment, such
13 incarcerated individual's compensation for performing such work or
14 program assignment shall not be decreased if they are transferred to a
15 different facility or changes assignments within a facility. The depart-
16 ment shall review and adjust the base rate of compensation of incarcer-
17 ated individuals every five years after the effective date of this
18 subdivision to adjust for cost-of-living increases. A cost-of-living
19 adjustment shall be made if the sum of the annual average changes of the
20 consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published annu-
21 ally by the United States department of labor bureau of labor statis-
22 tics, is ten percent or greater upon review. Incarcerated individuals
23 who are not able to work or participate in programs because of a
24 medical, mental, cognitive, developmental or physical impairment or
25 condition or who are over the age of sixty and not participating in a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02258-01-5
A. 7165 2
1 work or program assignment because of age-related infirmity or frailty
2 shall be paid one dollar per day, adjusted every five years for cost of
3 living.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
5 law.
