Government Contracting
Protecting People And Benefiting Business: Why Prison Labor Should Be Subject To The Provisions Of The Service Contract Act
ABSTRACT
Despite working while incarcerated, prison inmates are not able to afford basic necessities during the period of their incarceration. This Note will demonstrate how the Service Contract Act (SCA) provides a solution to this problem. In order to do so, this Note will begin by describing how prison labor presently works and how the payment currently afforded to inmates detrimentally impacts them by making it so that they cannot afford necessities. Next, this Note will provide the rationale behind the enactment of the SCA and will demonstrate how its principles can be applied to prison labor. This Note will then explain how paying inmates the wages required under the SCA can feasibly be used to benefit not only inmates, but also private businesses and government procurement. Finally, this Note will conclude by addressing counterarguments regarding the feasibility of using the SCA to govern prison labor.
Click here to read the full article written by Rebecca Fallk in the Public Contract Law Journal. Log-in may be required.
