Pamela, As communities across the country endure record-breaking temperatures this summer, both state and federal legislators have proposed new measures to protect workers from excessive heat—except for people in prison.
Consider this: a new rule change in California requires employers to reduce the risk of heat illness for indoor workers. But these measures exclude people who work in state and local correctional facilities. Pamela, California is not an exception. In fact, 22 states don't place official limits on tolerable heat for jails and prisons. Does that seem right to you? |
An estimated 800,000 incarcerated people work in U.S. prisons. Oftentimes, they are forced to do jobs that are incredibly dangerous—from fighting wildfires in California to lead paint removal in New York—and yet they are explicitly excluded from many of the workplace safety, labor, anti-discrimination laws and benefits that protect other U.S. workers: |
- Most incarcerated people are paid pennies an hour and, in some states, nothing at all for their labor.
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- Workplace safety laws and benefits often exclude correctional facilities, making it nearly impossible for incarcerated workers to challenge unsafe conditions or to receive medical care for conditions caused by their employment.
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- Incarcerated people often have no say in what type of jobs they perform, leaving them vulnerable to race, gender, and disability discrimination.
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