Private employers could hire incarcerated people through approved prison programs

The Prison Industry Enhancement Authority would approve and oversee private employers' prison work programs. Businesses and nonprofits could employ people serving sentences at state or county prison sites. Juvenile facilities and privately run prisons would be excluded. State prisons would need the authority's approval; county prisons would also need their governing board's approval. Workers would have to agree in writing to participate and accept specific wage deductions in advance. Prisons would not have to offer these jobs. Administrative and clerical support would depend on available funds. Approved goods and services could be sold on the open market, without a dollar limit unless the authority sets one. The provisions would take effect 120 days after enactment.

Employers would have to show that their prison work programs meet rules protecting local workers and businesses. These requirements would apply to businesses and nonprofits seeking prison work contracts. Applicants would have to show consultation with affected local businesses and union groups. Programs could not demonstrably displace local workers, use trades with a surplus of available workers, impair existing contracts, or use workers for jobs matching those involved in labor disputes. Employers would need to maintain financial backing for work injury payments and show no findings of violations of the listed worker protection laws in the previous 10 years. The work could not be covered by Pennsylvania's Prevailing Wage Act or Child Labor Act. Activities would have to comply with the listed federal environmental law.

Employers would pay participating workers at least the local rate for similar work, with limits on wage deductions. These rules would cover people working in approved programs run by private employers at public prisons. Pay could not fall below the higher state or federal minimum wage, except where those laws allow exceptions. Required deductions would cover taxes, victim payments, prison living and administrative costs, and family support where required or agreed to. Victim payments would total 5%–20% of pay before deductions. The listed deductions together could not exceed 70%; all legally allowed deductions together could not exceed 80%. Workers would receive a written account of each deduction. Remaining wages would be held in their names, with early withdrawals allowed at the prison's discretion. Money could also go toward their legal debts. Workers would be paid at least every two weeks. Money remaining in their accounts would be returned when they leave prison.

Private employers would be responsible for workplace protections and work injury coverage, with limits on workers' benefits. Participants would not receive the rights or benefits of state or county employees and would not qualify for unemployment payments. Listed protections would apply only to the private employment relationship, including wage, safety, and discrimination rules. Work could not exceed 40 hours in any workweek. Employers would be liable for covered work injuries, but the bill would not require disability payments while a worker remains incarcerated. Workers and their dependents could not claim injury payments from the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund, a fund for claims involving employers without coverage.

Participants could not bring contract-based lawsuits against public bodies in Pennsylvania courts or agencies or claim a guaranteed right to a program job. The stated contract lawsuit restriction would cover public bodies and staff, rather than private employers. The lawsuit restriction would cover claims based on program contracts against the authority, state or local governments, and their agencies or staff. The chapter would preserve government protections against lawsuits and existing authority to require other prison work.