HB 5033, An Act Concerning the Compensation of Incarcerated Individuals

The ACLU-CT believes that everyone should be paid a fair wage for their labor, including people who are incarcerated. The Thirteenth Amendment, which designated slavery and involuntary servitude as unconstitutional, contains a single exception: when it is used as punishment for a crime. After the abolishment of slavery, the criminal legal system was one of the many means of maintaining the legalized involuntary servitude of Black people. People who are working while they are incarcerated in Connecticut can expect to earn between $0.30 to $1.50 per hour. Low prison wages hurt families and communities, too. Justice-impacted families are bled dry by the criminal legal system. Experts estimate that families of incarcerated people pay nearly $3 billion every single year on the hidden costs of incarceration. House Bill 5033 is a good starting step to improving labor conditions and wages in Connecticut’s prison system.