The Exception Written into the Constitution
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. Almost. Section 1 contains 17 words that created a loophole large enough to build an industry inside: “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”
That exception has operated without interruption since 1865. Today, approximately 800,000 incarcerated people work in state and federal prisons. They fight wildfires and manufacture furniture for government agencies.
The combined value of their labor exceeds $11 billion annually. Most of them have no legal right to refuse.
What Forced Labor Looks Like in Practice
The ACLU’s Captive Labor report surveyed incarcerated workers across the country and found conditions that would trigger immediate shutdown in any other workplace.
“76 percent of incarcerated workers report facing punishment — such as solitary confinement, denial of sentence reductions, or loss of family visitation — if they decline or are unable to work.”
Seventy percent said they received no formal job training. The same percentage reported being unable to afford basic necessities like soap and phone calls on their wages. Sixty-four percent said they worried about their physical safety while working.
What States Pay (and Don’t Pay)
Average hourly wages for regular prison jobs by state. Seven states pay nothing at all.
| State | Average Hourly Wage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | $0.00 | No wages paid for any regular prison work |
| Arkansas | $0.00 | Agricultural labor generates millions for the state |
| Georgia | $0.00 | Largest state prison population in the South |
| Alabama | $0.00 | Only correctional industries workers receive any compensation |
| Mississippi | $0.00 | Penal plantations still operate |
| Florida | $0.00 | Largest zero-pay prison workforce in the country |
| South Carolina | $0.00 | No wages for maintenance or kitchen labor |
| Louisiana | $0.04-$0.20 | Highest incarceration rate per capita in the U.S. |
| Nevada | $0.13-$0.80 | Below national average |
| Colorado | $0.97 | Removed slavery exception from state constitution in 2018 |
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. The national average for incarcerated workers ranges from $0.13 to $0.52 per hour. Even where wages exist, correctional systems deduct up to 80 percent for room, board, and restitution fees.
What Is Changing in 2026
The Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers Act (S. 4143), introduced by Senator Cory Booker in March 2026, would require federal minimum wage for all incarcerated workers and eliminate excessive deductions. The bill is endorsed by the ACLU, Brennan Center, Economic Policy Institute, and the Vera Institute of Justice.
In California, lawmakers are pushing a revised constitutional amendment to the 2026 ballot after Proposition 6 failed in 2024 with 47 percent support. The new version restructures the language around voluntary participation rather than simply removing disciplinary consequences. A separate bill, AB 2642, would raise pay for incarcerated firefighters to $19 per hour during active fire deployments.
Colorado, Utah, and Nebraska have already removed the slavery exception from their state constitutions. Tennessee and Vermont did the same in 2022. But constitutional text does not automatically change material conditions inside facilities. Pay in these states remains far below minimum wage.
What This Fight Connects To
Prison labor is a civil rights issue. The people inside these facilities are disproportionately Black and Latino. In states like Texas and Mississippi, incarcerated workers perform agricultural labor on former plantations under armed guards.
That is not a metaphor for slavery. It is the continuation of it through a constitutional loophole.
The Civil Rights and Racial Justice hub tracks the broader fight, including the Alabama prison crisis and voting rights rollbacks.
What You Can Do
- Write your representatives through Resist Bot and demand co-sponsorship of the Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers Act (S. 4143).
- Contact your state legislators about removing the slavery exception from your state constitution if it still exists. Twenty states still permit involuntary servitude as criminal punishment.
- Support organizations doing this work directly, including the ACLU National Prison Project, Worth Rises, and the Abolish Slavery National Network.
- Follow California’s 2026 ballot measure. If it passes, it will be the largest state to remove forced prison labor from its constitution and could shift momentum nationwide.
- Share this brief with people who do not know that the 13th Amendment contains an exception. Most do not.
Sources
- ACLU: Captive Labor Report on Incarcerated Worker Exploitation
- Human Trafficking Search: Prison Workers Produce $11B for Little to No Pay
- Kent State: How Much Prisoners Make in Each State
- University of Chicago: Prison Labor Programs Violate Fundamental Human Rights
- Prison Policy Initiative: State Prison Wages and Labor Data
- Scalawag: Race to the Bottom on Prison Labor Exploitation in the South