{"id":325,"date":"2026-05-31T04:13:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325"},"modified":"2026-05-31T04:13:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:13:05","slug":"colorado-voted-to-end-forced-prison-labor-in-2018-so-why-are-incarcerated-people-in-the-state-still-working-for-less-than-2-an-hour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325","title":{"rendered":"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Colorado voters passed Amendment A, a ballot measure touted as an end to slavery in state prisons in 2018. The amendment eliminated the penal exception clause, which allowed the state to use forced labor in addition to incarceration as a punishment for crime.<\/p>\n

Read more Chilling effects of Trump\u2019s war on free speech extend far beyond campus walls \u2013 and that\u2019s the\u00a0point<\/a><\/p>\n

Colorado was the first of eight states to repeal its penal exception clause. Advocates for the policy change hoped it would prevent forced labor for little pay. Colorado pays incarcerated workers between for maintenance jobs such as cooking, cleaning and groundskeeping.<\/p>\n

Nationally, the elimination of state penal exception clauses has had little impact on incarcerated workers. Lawsuits in and Alabama have alleged that forced labor continues despite the policy change. <\/p>\n

My research examines prison conditions and programming, including work programs. I wrote my doctoral dissertation on state and federal prison industries, which sell goods produced by incarcerated workers to government agencies.<\/p>\n

Colorado lawsuit alleges abuse<\/h2>\n

In 2022, the plaintiffs who brought a class action lawsuit, , alleged that the Colorado Department of Corrections violated the amended state constitution by punishing incarcerated people who refused mandatory work programs. The punishments included solitary confinement and use of force.<\/p>\n

Incarcerated people also reported the loss of good time and earned time credit, which are two sentence reduction incentives based on participating in work programs. Additionally, they reported loss of and family visits. <\/p>\n

During the trial, David Lisac, deputy director of the Colorado Department of Corrections . He said the department had neither changed its policies in response to the amendment nor attempted to ascertain whether the department was in compliance with the amendment.<\/p>\n

In February 2026, the that the department and Gov. Jared Polis violated the state constitution by forcing people to work. The ruling specified that use of force and isolation for failure to work were unconstitutional. On the other hand, the court that withholding privileges or credits constituted involuntary servitude.<\/p>\n

Whether the decision will have an impact on work conditions in Colorado prisons remains to be seen. <\/p>\n

History of the penal exception clause<\/h2>\n

When the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing slavery passed in 1865, the penal exception clause allowed for slavery only as punishment for a crime. Along with Jim Crow laws that criminalized Blackness, the loophole allowed for the legal re-enslavement of Black Americans to financially benefit the state. The penal exception clause also allowed prisons to continue to operate as they had prior to the 13th Amendment. Historically, prisons in Colorado and across the U.S. used the labor of incarcerated workers and paid them little to nothing.<\/p>\n

This included the establishment of state penal farms on former slave plantations and widespread of incarcerated workers\u2019 labor to private companies. Chain gangs to build railroads were also established during this time.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Constitution, drafted and approved a decade later in 1876, included a provision that mirrored the 13th Amendment. Article II, Section 26, Colorado\u2019s penal exception clause, stated: \u201cSlavery prohibited. There shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more I\u2019ve been studying racist costume parties for a decade, and colleges are failing at educating the students about why they\u2019re\u00a0wrong<\/a><\/p>\n

Opposition to forced labor in prison took many forms. Those include the Attica uprising in 1971, attempts to unionize incarcerated workers and prison labor strikes. <\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s penal exception clause was eliminated in 2018. Following Colorado, legislation and ballot measures were introduced in many states and at the federal level. <\/p>\n

Incarcerated people need work<\/h2>\n

Colorado and states across the country use incarcerated workers to do almost all the jobs of running the prison. Paying prevailing wages would significantly increase operating expenses. A of paying incarcerated workers full wages for their work, by Edgeworth Economics, an economic consultancy firm, estimated the increase of expenses to fall between $8.5 billion to $14.5 billion nationwide.<\/p>\n

Incarcerated people use earnings from their work to purchase food and hygiene products from the commissary. In addition, many derive meaning and purpose from work, which is important for mental health. <\/p>\n

Refusing to work can also lead to harsh consequences. The Colorado lawsuit plaintiffs alleged that they experienced solitary confinement, isolation in their cells, loss of phone calls and visits, and loss of good time and earned time credits for failure to work. Solitary confinement harms mental health, and phone calls and visits are essential for family connectedness. Good time and earned time credits accrued through work can speed up release and are an important motivator to work, regardless of working conditions.<\/p>\n

Simultaneously, incarcerated people risk retaliation for speaking out about prison conditions. For example, the incarcerated men who started the Free Alabama Movement to end forced labor in 2013, and featured in the popular 2025 documentary film \u201cThe Alabama Solution,\u201d were later transferred to solitary confinement.<\/p>\n

Incarcerated workers rarely considered employees<\/h2>\n

Some prison labor is recognized as employment and paid the minimum wage \u2013 in theory. Nationally, private-sector Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program and work release employers are required to pay the prevailing minimum wage to their incarcerated employees. However, states always take deductions for room and board, transportation, victims services, court fees and the like. In some cases, of an incarcerated person\u2019s wages are deducted. That means take-home pay often remains low. <\/p>\n

But 97.4% of incarcerated workers labor for government entities directly and are paid less than a dollar an hour. <\/p>\n

They also lack protections. They are , which provides minimum wage rights and provisions for overtime pay. Nor are they covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which enforces worker\u2019s compensation and to safe working conditions. If an incarcerated worker is injured on the job, they are entitled to medical care, like anyone else in prison, but they have no right to financial compensation or sick days.<\/p>\n

Adapting the private-sector pay structure for all work in prison could result in \u2013 that\u2019s if deductions are revised to be fair as well. Researchers estimate that paying fair wages to incarcerated workers could produce up to annually in income to them directly, and benefits to families, crime victims and the economy through child support payments, restitution payments and taxes. Furthermore, fair wages would allow people to support themselves during incarceration and save for when they are released, which could have a meaningful impact on well-being during and after incarceration. <\/p>\n

Reforms, such as adjusting pay structures or removing the penal exception clause, may improve working conditions for incarcerated people. But researchers have asserted that prison labor will always be inherently coercive. Incarcerated workers have limited options to earn money and work toward an earlier release date, which undoubtedly influences their choice to work.<\/p>\n

Read more Chinese American teens experience depression, anxiety at higher rates than peers \u2013 here\u2019s why their parents may miss the warning\u00a0signs<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more of our stories about Colorado.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many jails and prisons are dependent on incarcerated labor to keep costs low.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[315],"tags":[250,1023,1027,545,1025,553,770,258,1024,544,502,1026,510],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-colorado","tag-constitution","tag-incarcerated-people","tag-incarceration","tag-labor-laws","tag-labor-rights","tag-lawsuits","tag-local","tag-prison-labor","tag-prisons","tag-slavery","tag-solitary-confinement","tag-us-slavery"],"yoast_head":"\nColorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour? - Pro Relocation Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour? - Pro Relocation Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many jails and prisons are dependent on incarcerated labor to keep costs low.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pro Relocation Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-31T04:13:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97a31525c78054101e02d9350324fbf9\"},\"headline\":\"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T04:13:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325\"},\"wordCount\":1174,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/c3a1db3a32d3f0d8458f094fdb8df82c.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"Colorado\",\"Constitution\",\"Incarcerated people\",\"Incarceration\",\"Labor laws\",\"Labor rights\",\"Lawsuits\",\"Local\",\"prison labor\",\"Prisons\",\"Slavery\",\"Solitary confinement\",\"US slavery\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325\",\"name\":\"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour? - Pro Relocation Team\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/c3a1db3a32d3f0d8458f094fdb8df82c.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T04:13:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97a31525c78054101e02d9350324fbf9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/c3a1db3a32d3f0d8458f094fdb8df82c.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/c3a1db3a32d3f0d8458f094fdb8df82c.avif\",\"width\":1356,\"height\":668},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?p=325#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pro Relocation Team\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/97a31525c78054101e02d9350324fbf9\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/prorelocationteam.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour? - Pro Relocation Team","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour? - Pro Relocation Team","og_description":"Many jails and prisons are dependent on incarcerated labor to keep costs low.","og_url":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325","og_site_name":"Pro Relocation Team","article_published_time":"2026-05-31T04:13:05+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/#\/schema\/person\/97a31525c78054101e02d9350324fbf9"},"headline":"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour?","datePublished":"2026-05-31T04:13:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325"},"wordCount":1174,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c3a1db3a32d3f0d8458f094fdb8df82c.avif","keywords":["Colorado","Constitution","Incarcerated people","Incarceration","Labor laws","Labor rights","Lawsuits","Local","prison labor","Prisons","Slavery","Solitary confinement","US slavery"],"articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325","url":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325","name":"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour? - Pro Relocation Team","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c3a1db3a32d3f0d8458f094fdb8df82c.avif","datePublished":"2026-05-31T04:13:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/#\/schema\/person\/97a31525c78054101e02d9350324fbf9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c3a1db3a32d3f0d8458f094fdb8df82c.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/c3a1db3a32d3f0d8458f094fdb8df82c.avif","width":1356,"height":668},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?p=325#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Colorado voted to end forced prison labor in 2018 \u2013 so why are incarcerated people in the state still working for less than $2 an\u00a0hour?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/","name":"Pro Relocation Team","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/#\/schema\/person\/97a31525c78054101e02d9350324fbf9","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/prorelocationteam.com"],"url":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prorelocationteam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}