N.Y. Correction Law Section 153
Conditions of Employment

1.

A prisoner shall be permitted to be employed only if:

(a)

The rates of pay and other conditions of employment will not be less than those paid or provided for work of similar nature in the locality in which the work is to be performed.

(b)

The commissioner finds, after consultation with representatives of local union central bodies or similar labor union organizations, that such employment will not result in the displacement of employed workers, impair existing contracts for services, or be applied, except where a prisoner is to be hired by an employer for whom he worked prior to his conviction, in skills, crafts, or trades in which there is a surplus of available gainful labor in the locality.

2.

The State Department of Labor shall exercise the same supervision over conditions of employment for prisoners participating in work release programs as such department does over conditions of employment for free persons.

3.

In no event shall a prisoner be employed in an establishment which has a labor dispute.

Source: Section 153 — Conditions of Employment, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/COR/153 (updated Sep. 22, 2014; accessed Feb. 28, 2026).

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Verified:
Feb. 28, 2026

Last modified:
Sep. 22, 2014

§ 153. Conditions of Employment's source at nysenate​.gov

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