Workers Compensation For Jail Inmates

Work Release Programs. Some sentenced county jail inmates perform kitchen work and other duties while they are incarcerated. However, state law also authorizes county sheriffs to operate voluntary work release programs. Under these programs, a person who has been committed to jail may be released from incarceration if he or she performs manual labor or other types of work that benefits the public, such as park maintenance, graffiti cleanup, picking up trash, or repair of senior centers. An offender who successfully participates in a work release program can reduce the time he or she would otherwise serve in jail. State law does not require that participants receive wages.However, state law does require that participants receive workers’ compensation insurance coverage, a statewide program to assist persons with work-related injuries that we discuss below.

Workers’ Compensation System. The State Constitution and implementing statutes establish a workers’ compensation insurance system that compensates public and private workers for work-related injuries. Under this system, employers—including the state and local governments—must purchase workers’ compensation insurance or selfinsure to pay these benefits. The amount of compensation that a worker receives under a workers’ compensation claim is set in state law and depends upon an individual’s physical condition, such as whether he or she is temporarily or permanently disabled.

The amount of a workers’ compensation award also depends on the wages the worker received before his or her injury. In general, under state law, a person determined to have a work-related temporary disability is eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits equal to two-thirds of their prior wages for as long as two years. However, a minimum amount of benefits is currently required, even if the worker’s wages were so low that they would otherwise receive a lower benefit. This minimum payment for temporary disability currently is $126 per week. (This amount will increase for injuries that occur after December 2006.) In addition to this compensation, an individual with a work-related injury may also receive medical services.Read more at lao.ca.gov