§ 53-517. Denver Jail Industries Program.

(1)

The Denver Sheriff's Department shall create a PIECP jail industries program that will provide skills and training and additional voluntary work opportunities for Denver inmates both in the public and private sector, including for sale of inmate-made goods on the open market.

(2)

The Denver County Jail shall seek certification under the Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) so that it may operate a jail industries program that is exempt from federal restrictions on prison-made goods in interstate commerce.

(3)

The Denver PIECP jail industries program shall:

(a)

Ensure that its inmates who participate in the PIECP work program are paid wages at a rate which is not less than that for work of a similar nature in the locality in which the work is to be performed.

(b)

Ensure that any employers participating in the PIECP program provide benefits to the inmates comparable to those made available by the federal or state government to similarly situated private sector employees, including Worker's Compensation Insurance and where required by law, Social Security.

(4)

Inmate participation in the PIECP program shall be voluntary.

(5)

Wages paid to inmates participating in the PIECP work program may be subjected to the following deductions which in the aggregate shall not exceed eighty (80) percent of gross wages:

(a)

Taxes (federal, state, local);

(b)

Reasonable charges for room and board;

(c)

Allocations for support of family pursuant to state statute, court order, or agreement by the offender; and

(d)

Contributions to the victim's assistance fund in an amount not to exceed twenty (20) percent, but not less than five (5) percent of gross wages.

(6)

After deductions enumerated [in subsections] (a) through (d) above, the Denver Sheriff's Department may require that inmates participate in a reasonable savings plan, as determined by the director of corrections/undersheriff.

(7)

In addition to its own program, as a PIECP certificate holder, Denver Jail Industries shall be authorized to act as an umbrella authority and enter into cooperative agreements with other county sheriff's departments for the creation of other counties' jail industry and cost accounting centers (CACs) to utilize inmate labor within their own jurisdictions. Denver Jail Industries may provide technical information and assistance in the designation and administration of all industry projects and assume compliance monitoring responsibility with respect to designated CACs.

(8)

The manager of safety and the director of corrections/undersheriff shall further have power and authority, and are hereby empowered and authorized to create an advisory committee, to adopt rules, regulations and/or internal guidelines, to enter into agreements for the purpose of employing inmates, and to otherwise implement the Denver Jail Industries Program.

(Ord. No. 221-08, § 1, 4-28-08)