{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-197.105","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 197.105","heading":"Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) -- Lease of","body":"labor of state prisoners within department's facilities for production of\nnonagricultural goods for sale to public and private buyers.\n(1) The department may admi nister a Prison Industry Enhancement Certification\nProgram (PIECP) and may lease the labor of state prisoners within the boundaries\nof the state's Department of Corrections facilities for the production of\nnonagricultural goods for sale to both public and private buyers, if the department\nmeets the conditions set out in this section. This section shall apply only to the\nleasing of labor in accordance with a PIECP and not to programs otherwise\noperated by Kentucky Correctional Industries.\n(2) The department shall not lease the labor of a prisoner who does not consent in\nwriting to the leasing of that prisoner's labor.\n(3) The department shall retain full responsibility for the care, custody, and control of\nthe prisoner and shall supply appropriate security an d custody services without cost\nto the person leasing the labor.\n(4) The department shall ensure that the prisoner is paid wages at a rate not less than\nthat paid for work of a similar nature in the locality in which the work takes place,\nas determined by the Education and Labor Cabinet, and never less than the federal\nminimum wage. The final decision on the appropriate wage, in keeping with federal\nand state labor and wage laws, shall be made by the Education and Labor Cabinet.\n(5) The department shall not  allow a prisoner whose labor has been leased under this\nsection to:\n(a) Engage in work that would result in the displacement of employed workers in\nthe specific Department of Corrections locale. As used in this paragraph, a\ndisplaced employed worker is:\n1. A civilian worker employed in the same task by the employer leasing or\napplying to lease prisoner labor, who would lose his or her job if the\nprisoner labor were leased; or\n2. A civilian worker who is employed full -time and, as a result of the\nprisoner l abor lease, is forced to work part -time, regardless of wage\nincrease.\nA civilian wo rker is not considered displaced for the purposes of this\nparagraph if the civilian worker remains employed in a job acceptable to that\nworker and at equal or higher wages than that worker previously received.\nThe employer shall provide whatever retraining  is required of the civilian\nworker at no cost to the civilian worker;\n(b) Labor in a skill, craft, or trade in which there is a surplus of labor for that\nskill, craft, or trade in that specific Department of Corrections locale;\n(c) Perform any work that would impair existing contracts for goods or services;\n(d) Perform leased work outside of Department of Corrections facilities; or\n(e) Perform leased construction work inside or outside Department of Corrections\nfacilities.\n(6) Before the commencement of an y leased labor project at a Department of\nCorrections facility under this section, the department shall:\n(a) Receive a written projection from the Education and Labor Cabinet that the\nleased labor project shall not result in acts prohibited by subsection ( 5)(a) to\n(c) of this section;\n(b) Receive written documentation from the employer leasing or applying to lease\nprisoner labor agreeing to not displace any of its nonprisoner employees with\nleased prisoner labor;\n(c) Have written documentation of consultati on with local unions representing\nlabor in the specific Department of Corrections facility's locale in any skill,\ncraft, or trade in which a prisoner may labor at that facility. If a local union is\nnot available, the department shall consult with a similar  statewide union. The\ndepartment shall present this information to the Kentucky State Corrections\nCommission;\n(d) Have written documentation of consultation with local private businesses that\nmay be economically impacted by the leased labor project. The de partment\nshall present this information to the Kentucky State Corrections Commission;\nand\n(e) Have written documentation of compliance with the National Environmental\nPolicy Act (NEPA).\n(7) The leasing of prisoner labor shall not be deemed to create an emp loyer-employee\nrelationship between the person leasing the labor of the prisoner and the prisoner.\nHowever, the person leasing the labor of the prisoner shall provide for workers'\ncompensation coverage for the prisoner and, if applicable, Social Security c overage\nfor the prisoner.\n(8) A prisoner, as a condition of participation in a program operating under the\nprovisions of this section, shall agree to the deductions from the prisoner's earnings\nset out in this subsection. The department or the person leasi ng the labor of the\nprisoner shall deduct, in the following order, from a prisoner's gross wages:\n(a) If the prisoner is the subject of a court or administrative order for the support\nof a dependent, no less than twenty -five percent (25%) for the payment o f the\ncourt or administratively ordered support. These deducted wages shall be paid\nto the Office of the Attorney General's Child Support Enforcement Program\nfor disbursement in accordance with federal and state law;\n(b) Twenty percent (20%) to be paid to the crime victim's compensation fund\nestablished in KRS 49.480;\n(c) Applicable federal, state, and local taxes, including Social Security if\napplicable; and\n(d) Reasonable room and board fees established by the department by\nadministrative regulation.\nTotal deductions from a prisoner's gross wages shall not exceed eighty percent\n(80%).\n(9) The department shall require any person leasing the labor of a prisoner to post\nbond, with good surety, in an amount determined by the department, against any\njudgment t hat may be entered against the department arising from the leasing of\nprisoner labor to that person.\n(10) In leasing prisoner labor under this section, the department shall seek to have the\nlabor leased to the highest responsible bidder.\n(11) The departmen t shall provide for reasonable access to the grounds of the\nDepartment of Corrections facilities for the person leasing the inmate labor and for\nthe location of the work and the transporting and siting of equipment and supplies,\nwith the security of the public being paramount.\n(12) The department may promulgate administrative regulations to implement the\nprovisions of this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 197"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54302","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:50Z","sha256":"4d09645bf4d28a39e8c4ec56b81c55a7b9dfe780f1d592786ab7da7ee21494b5","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-197.100","next":"us-ky/krs-197.110"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}