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Idaho Supreme Court Holds Prisoners Have No Right to Paid or Unpaid Employment
by Matt Clarke
On August 5, 2020, the Idaho Supreme Court held that state prisoners have no right to paid or unpaid employment despite a state law stating that the board of correction “shall provide for the care, maintenance and employment of all prisoners,” Idaho Code § 20-209.
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More from this issue:
- The Way Prisoners Flag Guard Abuse, Inadequate Health Care and Unsanitary Conditions Is Broken, by Shannon Heffernan
- Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration, by Edward Lyon
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- New York Parole System Badly in Need of Repair, by Kevin Bliss
- Pandemic Update: News on Vaccines and Prison and Jail Staffing, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Urgent Need for Vaccine Administration in Prisons, Jails and Detention Centers, by Sharon Dolovich, Aaron Littman, Maya Chaudhuri
- Almost 300,000 Fell Ill and 2,000 Died from COVID-19 in U.S. Jails, Prisons, by Derek Gilna
- California Loses Round in Legal Fight to Deny Parole Based on Gang Affiliation, by David Reutter
- Was Indiana Women’s Prison Willfully Ignorant About COVID-19 Numbers?, by Matthew Clarke
- How a Private Prison Company’s Defamation Suit Against One of Its Critics Backfired, by Madison Pauley
- After $625,000 Settlement, Oregon Deputy Charged in Assault of Prisoner, by Mark Wilson
- Pinellas County, Florida Sheriff’s Office Sued in Federal Court for Treatment of Transgender Prisoner, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Judge Slaps ICE, GEO Group Over “Abominable Performance” and Officials Who Lied During Testimony, by David Reutter
- No Summary Judgment on Oregon Prisoner’s Retaliatory Termination Claim, by Mark Wilson
- Minnesota State and Federal Prisoners COVID Case Surge Sparks ACLU Lawsuit, by Derek Gilna
- Missouri Prisoner Pleaded for Release Before Dying of COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Ninth Circuit Finds California Prisoner’s Administrative Remedies Effectively Unavailable, by Mark Wilson
- Fourth Circuit Holds Prisoner’s Indefinite Period of Solitary Confinement at Virginia Supermax May Amount to Atypical and Significant Hardship, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Educational Aid Restored for State and Federal Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
- Progress Made in Fight Against Prison Gerrymandering But Battle Continues, by Douglas Ankney
- COVID-19: What Texas Must Do to Save Prisoners’ Lives, by Edward Lyon
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Lower Court’s Dismissal of California Prisoner’s Religious Freedom Lawsuit, by Mark Wilson
- Minnesota Prison Guard Fired for Excessive Force After Brawl Linked to Floyd Protests, by Anthony Accurso
- New Details Emerge on Senseless Death in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin Jail, by Jayson Hawkins
- Justice Department Report Documents Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center’s Poor Response to COVID-19 Crisis, by Kevin Bliss
- $1.1 Million Settlement in Kentucky Jail Sex Abuse Suit, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge in Georgia Grants Class Action Status to Prisoners’ Suit Against Global Tel*Link
- Global Tel*Link Hit with Sanctions For Discovery Violations in Georgia Prison Call Class Action, by Derek Gilna
- Fourth Circuit: ADA Relief Claims Improperly Dismissed in Virginia, by Mark Wilson
- Private Prison Companies Face Stock Crash, Credit Crunch, by Matthew Clarke
- Arizona Pays Prisoners Pennies on the Dollar to Fight Fires, All in the Name of Saving Money, by Dale Chappell
- Former BOP Director Norman Carlson, Who Developed Supermax Model, Dies at 86, by Kevin Bliss
- Mellon Foundation to Provide $5.25 Million in Program to Distribute Books to Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- Experts Find “Deplorable” Conditions at Mississippi’s Parchman Prison, by David Reutter
- ICE Refused Help in Containing Coronavirus in New Mexico Detention Centers, by Kevin Bliss
- Troubled Ohio Jail Faces Two More Lawsuits, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Correctional Emergency Response Teams Face New Scrutiny in “Noose” Controversy, by Derek Gilna
- New Mexico Corrections Pays $1.4 Million to Settle Whistleblower Complaint Alleging Retaliation for Exposing Deficiencies in Corizon Medical Care, by Douglas Ankney
- Child Sexual Abuse: It’s Never Too Late to Speak Out, by Darrell Cochran
- No-Show Prison Workers Cost Mississippi Taxpayers Millions, by Joseph Neff, Alysia Santo
- Ninth Circuit Holds Intermediate Scrutiny Applies in Challenges to Facially Discriminatory Prison Regulations, by Matthew Clarke
- Overtime Payouts in California Prison System Approach $500 Million, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Florida State Prisons Scrub Key COVID Data From Website, Obscuring Magnitude of Inmate Deaths and Infections, by Laura Cassels
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Prisoners Have No Right to Paid or Unpaid Employment, by Matthew Clarke
- Legislative Exemption Let Fired Alaska Cop Be Rehired as Jailer, by Edward Lyon
- Prisoners Paid $2 Per Hour to Move COVID-19 Corpses in El Paso, Texas, by Matthew Clarke
- NY Federal Court Denies Summary Judgment on Claims of Improper Medication Seizure, Evidence Fabrication, Improper Frisk During Prison Visit, by Matthew Clarke
- Minnesota Man Out of Prison After Being Exonerated of Murder, by Edward Lyon
- Federal Court Again Orders California DOC to Remedy Continuing ADA Violations, by Derek Gilna
- $4.65 Million Settlement for Florida Female Prisoner Left Quadriplegic After Brutal Beating by Guards, by David Reutter
- Decline in South Dakota State Prisoners Not Due to COVID, by Edward Lyon
- COVID-19: The Politics of Prisoner Vaccination, by Kevin Bliss
- DOJ Report: Carceral Population Falls, 2017-2018, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Tennessee DOC’s Hepatitis C Treatment Due to Lack of Funds, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Eleventh Circuit Reinstates Alabama Prisoner’s Excessive Prison Violence Claim, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Jail Supervisors Who Ignored Detainee’s Cranial Abscesses, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Some Defendants from Lawsuit Over Missouri Prisoner’s Suicide, Oct. 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Orders Texas to Admit Incompetent Jailed Defendants to Mental Health Facilities Within 21 Days, Oct. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Washington DOC Barred from Putting Prisoners on Lockdown and Calling It “Programming”, Sept. 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Liberty Interests, Notice of Rules, Lockdowns, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- New ICE Detention Standards Appear Designed to Help GEO Group Avoid Paying Wages, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Immigration Detention.
- New Commission to Investigate Death and Abuse of 230 Black Children at Segregated Maryland Reformatory, Sept. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons.
- The GEO Group Pays California $104,510 to Settle Workplace Safety Charges at ICE Detention Facility—Where Local Cops Won’t Investigate Crimes, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Oklahoma Prisoners Made Political Calls for Conservative Super PAC, Sept. 1, 2026. Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Elections.
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Immigration Detention, Monell Liability.
- SCOTUS Shuts Down GEO Group Bid for Immunity in Suit by Colorado ICE Detainees, July 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Prison Labor, Sovereign Immunity, Interlocutory Appeals, Immigration Detention.
- Colorado Ordered to Stop Tossing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work, July 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Injunctions, Good Time, Constitution, state, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Federal Judge Upholds Infamously Brutal Farm Labor at Angola Prison, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- Constitutional Challenge to Louisiana Prison “Farm Line” Granted Class Certification, March 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Injunctions (PLRA), Class Certification, Americans with Disabilities Act.

