Employment of Inmates

V.S.A. tit. 28, ch. 11, subch. 2

in effect

28 V.S.A. § 751a Definitions

751a. Definitions For purposes of this subchapter: (1) “Assembled product” means a good produced by combining articles or components where none of the articles or components were fabricated, changed, or altered by the use of offender labor. (2) “Offender service labor” means the use of offender labor for projects such as brush clearing, painting, repairing, and construction. (3) “Offender work product” means a good fabricated by inmate labor in whole or in part from raw or prepared materials, so as to impart to those materials new forms, qualities, or properties. Added 1999, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 57, eff. May 24, 2000.

28 V.S.A. § 751b General provisions governing offender work

751b. General provisions governing offender work (a) To return value to communities, to assist victims of crime, to establish good habits of work and responsibility, to promote the vocational training of offenders, to pursue initiatives with private business to enhance offender employment opportunities, and to reduce the cost of operation of the Department of Corrections and of other State agencies, offenders may be employed in the production and delivery of goods, services, and foodstuffs to communities, to victims of crime, to correctional facilities, to other State agencies, and to other public or private entities authorized by this subchapter. To accomplish these purposes, the Commissioner may establish and maintain industries, farms, and institutional work programs at appropriate correctional facilities or other locations, plus community service work programs throughout the State. (b) An offender shall not be required to engage in unreasonable labor or to perform any work for which he or she is declared unfit by a physician employed or retained by the Department. (c) The Commissioner shall establish written guidelines governing the hours and conditions of offender work, and the rates of compensation of offenders for employment. Wage payments of offenders shall be set aside in a separate fund. The guidelines of the Department may provide for the making of deductions from wages of offenders to defray part or all of the cost of offender maintenance or payments to victims of crime. The guidelines may also provide for the setting aside by the Department of a portion of an offender’s wages to enable the offender to contribute to the support of his or her dependents, if any, to make necessary purchases from a commissary, to purchase approved books, instruments, and instruction not supplied by a correctional facility, and to set aside sums to be paid to the offender upon release from the custody or supervision of the Commissioner. Any interest that accrues from these wages during the period of such custody of an offender shall be credited to any fund maintained by the correctional facility for the welfare of offenders. (d) The labor, work product, or time of an offender may be sold, contracted, or hired out by the State only: (1) To the federal government. (2) To any state or political subdivision of a state, or to any nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal or state income taxation, subject to federal law, to the laws of the recipient state, and to the rules of the Department, provided that the Commissioner or designee may disapprove any future sales of offender produced goods or services to any nonprofit organization. (3) To any private person or enterprise not involving the provision of the federally authorized Prison Industries Enhancement Program, provided that the Commissioner or designee shall first determine that the offender work product in question is not otherwise produced or available within the State. (4) To charitable organizations where the offender work product is the handicraft of offenders and the Commissioner or designee has approved such sales in advance. (5) To political subdivisions of the State, community organizations, private persons, or enterprises when the Governor has authorized the work of offenders as necessary and appropriate as a response to a civil emergency. (e) Offender work programs managers shall seek to offset production, service, and related costs from product and service sales; however, this financial objective of offsetting the costs to the Department of servicing and supervising offender work programs shall not be pursued to the detriment of accomplishing the purposes of offender work programs set out in subsection (a) of this section or to the detriment of private businesses as safeguarded by section 761 of this title. (f) The Department of Corrections shall, in any new initiative involving sales of offender work products, seek to use the provisions of the federally authorized Prison Industries Enhancement Program. (g) [Repealed.] (h) The Commissioner shall consult and collaborate with the Commissioner of Labor at least annually to seek funding and support for vocational training for offenders to help offenders achieve a successful transition from the custody of the Commissioner to private life. To the extent feasible, any vocational training program for offenders shall incorporate the professional training standards applicable to the construction and other trades, and industries, existing in the private sector. Added 1999, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 58, eff. May 24, 2000; amended 2005, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 5, 2006; 2009, No. 33, § 51; 2019, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 10.

28 V.S.A. § 752 Offender Work Programs Special Fund

752. Offender Work Programs Special Fund (a) An Offender Work Programs Special Fund shall be maintained for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of section 751b of this title, which Fund shall include any appropriations made from time to time by the General Assembly and any sums obtained from the sale of goods and services produced by offenders pursuant to section 751b of this title. The Special Fund shall be managed pursuant to 32 V.S.A. chapter 7, subchapter 5. (b) Any expenses incurred by offender work programs shall be defrayed by this Fund. (c) All balances of the Fund remaining at the end of any fiscal year shall be carried forward and be made available for the succeeding fiscal year, and shall be kept as a special fund by the State Treasurer, except that any balance at the end of a fiscal year not needed to maintain offender work programs or for other purposes provided by section 751b or 761 of this title shall by September 1 of the subsequent fiscal year be transferred to the Victims’ Compensation Fund established under 13 V.S.A. chapter 167. (d) The Fund also may be used, at the discretion of the Commissioner, to further the raising, harvesting, and preservation of food. (e) Purchases of materials for resale may be made from the Fund, but the Fund shall be maintained intact except for temporary depletion in making such purchases for resale. (f) [Repealed.] Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; amended 1997, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 1999, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 59, eff. May 24, 2000; 2009, No. 33, § 83(l)(1); 2019, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.

28 V.S.A. § 753 Work release program

753. Work release program (a) The Commissioner shall have the authority to permit any inmate of any correctional facility to be gainfully employed outside the facility when the employment is determined to be in the best interests of the inmate and of the State, and when the inmate volunteers to participate in any work release program making provisions for gainful employment. Inmates may be employed by the State or by public or private employers. The rates of pay and other conditions of employment for an inmate released under this section shall be the same as those paid or required in the locality in which the work is performed. (b) The Commissioner shall have the power and responsibility to make rules and regulations for the administration of any work release program authorized under this section. (c) The Commissioner, before allowing any inmate to participate in a work release program, shall determine that the employment of the inmate will not cause the displacement of employed workers. (d) A work release program may be extended to include the enrollment of an inmate in academic or vocational programs designed to improve the skills and abilities of the inmate. (e) The time during which an inmate participates in a work release program outside a correctional facility shall be tabulated toward the serving of his or her sentence in the same manner as though the inmate had served such time at the facility. The inmate shall remain subject to the rules and regulations of the facility and be under the direction and control of the officers thereof during the period of his or her participation in the program. Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20.

28 V.S.A. § 754 Powers and responsibilities of the Department regarding the work release program

754. Powers and responsibilities of the Department regarding the work release program The Department is charged with the following powers and responsibilities: (1) To supervise and consult with inmates participating in any work release program. (2) To assist in locating available employment or vocational or other training opportunities for qualified work release participants and to effect placement of the participants under any work release program. (3) To promote public understanding and acceptance of the work release program. (4) To foster cooperation of all State agencies with the Department in the administration of the work release program. (5) To provide cash advances in the nature of loans from the revolving fund established by section 752 of this title to participants in the work release program as are necessary to carry out the program. The Commissioner is authorized to seek all available remedies in any court of this State or any court of competent jurisdiction to obtain a judgment in the event that an inmate receiving a cash advance in accordance with this section defaults in the repayment of the cash advance. Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20.

28 V.S.A. § 755 Disposition of earnings

755. Disposition of earnings An inmate participating in a work release program shall cause to be given to the Commissioner the inmate’s total earnings less payroll deductions authorized by law, including income taxes. Upon receipt of the earnings the Commissioner, to the extent reasonable, may: (1) Deduct an amount determined to be equivalent to the cost of providing for the living expenses of the inmate. (2) Cause to be paid, as are needed, any of the following. (A) Any costs or fine imposed by the sentencing court. (B) Any restitution included as part of the sentence of the inmate by the court. (C) Any sum as is needed for the support of the dependents of the inmate, in which case the Commissioner shall notify the Commissioner for Children and Families of the support payments. (D) Any loan which may have been issued to the inmate pursuant to subdivision 754(5) of this title. (E) Any restitution or reparation included as part of a disciplinary proceeding for damage to State-owned property. Any monies collected under this subdivision shall be used to offset the cost of repair or replacement of the damaged property. (3) Allow the inmate to draw from the balance of his or her earnings a sufficient sum to cover his or her incidental expenses. (4) Credit to the account of the inmate the amount as remains after deductions are made in accordance with the provisions of this section, paying to the inmate the balance of his or her account upon his or her release. Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; amended 1977, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1999, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 57.

28 V.S.A. § 757 Inmate not an agent of the State

757. Inmate not an agent of the State No inmate participating in any work release program, or engaged in work, industry, or employment at a correctional facility, or any community service or a public works activity or vocational training at a correctional facility or in the community while under the supervision of officers, employees, volunteers, or contracted persons of the Department of Corrections shall be deemed to be a “volunteer” or “State employee” for any purpose whatsoever. Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; amended 1993, No. 54, § 2.

28 V.S.A. § 758 Release from a correctional facility to do work in the service of such facility or of the Department

758. Release from a correctional facility to do work in the service of such facility or of the Department The supervising officer of any correctional facility may permit an inmate to leave the facility for the purpose of performing maintenance work or farm work, or any other work necessary, or appropriate for the maintenance, operations, or business of the facility or of the Department. Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20.

28 V.S.A. § 759 Employment and furlough of an inmate during the pendency of prosecution

759. Employment and furlough of an inmate during the pendency of prosecution (a) A person confined at a correctional facility during the pendency of a prosecution against him or her may request to be employed pursuant to the provisions of section 751 of this title. Upon receipt of the request, the supervising officer may so employ the inmate, subject to all the rules and regulations of section 751. (b) A person so confined may be allowed access to the work release and furlough programs pursuant to the provisions of sections 753 and 808 of this title with the consent of the prosecuting State’s Attorney and the judge of the court in which the person is being prosecuted. Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20.

28 V.S.A. § 760 Compensation of offenders

760. Compensation of offenders (a) The Commissioner, in consultation with the Department of Labor, shall adopt rules establishing an injured offender compensation program for offenders or their dependents for injuries suffered while under supervision by the Department and arising out of and in the course of work, industry, or an employment program, at a correctional facility, or any community service or public works activity or vocational training directed by the Department of Corrections. The rules shall establish the compensation, medical, and vocational benefits to which an injured offender may be entitled as well as procedures for resolving disputes. To the extent practicable and consistent with the requirements of the Department, compensation, medical, and vocational benefits shall be comparable to what a similarly injured employee would receive under 21 V.S.A. chapter 9. (b) The rights and remedies provided by this section and the rules adopted under authority of this section to an offender on account of a personal injury for which he or she is entitled to compensation under this section shall exclude all other rights and remedies of the offender, the offender’s personal representation, dependents or next of kin, at common law, or otherwise on account of such injury. (c) For purposes of this section, the Department of Corrections shall be the sole entity responsible for providing any compensation owed to an injured offender, without regard to the place of injury, and no claim for workers’ compensation or other common law action may be brought against the industry, employment program, government or community service entity, or vocational training provider either supervising the offender or receiving the benefit of the offender’s services. (d) In no case shall compensation be made under subsection (a) of this section to any offender injured while participating in a work release program pursuant to section 753 of this title. (e) Any compensation which is fixed in accordance with the rules adopted by the Commissioner may be paid either in periodic installments or in lump sum. The compensation may be drawn from the revolving fund established by section 752 of this title, from any general fund maintained by the Department, or from any approved source. (f) A claimant may seek review of the Department’s decision relative to an award of compensation by petitioning a Superior Court under Rule 74 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure. Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; amended 1993, No. 54, § 3; 1997, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 69, eff. April 29, 1998; 2005, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 5, 2006; 2025, No. 18, § 49, eff. May 13, 2025; 2025, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 125, eff. April 30, 2026.

28 V.S.A. § 761 Offender work programs expansion

761. Offender work programs expansion The Vermont Correctional Industries component of the offender work programs shall not expand into an existing market until the Commissioner or designee has evaluated the impact of expansion on private sector business. Added 1997, No. 62, § 44, eff. June 26, 1997; amended 1997, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 12; 1999, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 60, eff. May 24, 2000; 2009, No. 33, § 52; 2009, No. 67 (Adj. Sess.), § 96, eff. Feb. 25, 2010; 2019, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 9.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/28/011Fetched: 10/21/2026