Colorado Inmates Sue Over ‘Slave Labor,’ Demand Minimum Wage, Paid Vacations, Paid Sick Leave

From CBS Denver:

By Brian Maass

July 27, 2020

DENVER (CBS4)– Saying they are being used as “slave labor” by the Colorado prison system, three current and one former inmate have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis, the state prison system and a private prison operator. They are asking that inmates be paid minimum wage, be considered state employees and receive the same benefits as state workers like paid holidays and vacations, and paid sick leave and medical benefits.

“I had a kitchen job which was like going to hell every day”, said Adelbert “Jack” Bassford, who did time in Colorado prisons for white collar crime and was released last year.

He said he was paid .10 cents per hour to sweep kitchen floors, “I resented it every day.”

Read more at CBS Denver