South Carolina H 5357: Inmate minimum wage

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5357 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 11, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5357

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
24-3-230 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPENSATION OF CERTAIN INMATES; BY AMENDING 
SECTION 24-1-295, RELATING TO INMATES EMPLOYED FOR WORK INVOLVING EXPORTATION 
OF PRODUCTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE INMATES MAY NOT BE COMPENSATED LESS THAN AN 
HOURLY RATE EQUAL TO THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE; BY AMENDING SECTION 24-3-20, 
RELATING TO CONVICTED PERSONS, CUSTODY, PLACE OF CONFINEMENT, WORK RELEASE AND 
TRAINING PROGRAMS, LITTER REMOVAL, AND RESTITUTION PROGRAMS, SO AS TO PROVIDE 
INMATES MAY NOT BE COMPENSATED LESS THAN AN HOURLY RATE EQUAL TO THE FEDERAL 
MINIMUM WAGE; BY AMENDING SECTION 24-3-27, RELATING TO LOCAL REGIONAL 
CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND EMPLOYMENT OF INMATES, SO AS TO PROVIDE INMATES MAY 
BE COMPENSATED LESS THAN THE PREVAILING WAGE FOR WORK OF A SIMILAR NATURE IN 
THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BUT NOT LESS THAN AN HOURLY RATE EQUAL TO THE FEDERAL 
MINIMUM WAGE; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 24-3-30, RELATING TO PLACES OF INMATE 
CONFINEMENT, SO AS TO PROVIDE INMATES MAY BE COMPENSATED LESS THAN THE 
PREVAILING WAGE FOR WORK OF A SIMILAR NATURE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BUT NOT 
LESS THAN AN HOURLY RATE EQUAL TO THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 3, Title 24 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
24-3-230. Notwithstanding another provision of law to the contrary, an inmate 
incarcerated in a Department of Corrections facility or a local detention 
facility not subject to the provisions contained in Sections 24-1-295, 
24-3-20(B), 24-3-27(B), 24-3-30(C), or 24-3-430(D) may not be compensated for 
less than an hourly rate equal to the federal minimum wage for work performed 
while incarcerated.

SECTION 2. Section 24-1-295 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
24-1-295. The Director of the Department of 
Corrections may enter into contracts with private sector entities that allow 
inmate labor to be provided for prison industry service work and export work 
that involves exportation of products. The use of inmate labor may not result 
in the displacement of employed workers within the local region in which work 
is being performed. Pursuant to this section, service work is defined as any 
work that includes repair, replacement of original manufactured items, 
packaging, sorting, recycling, labeling, or similar work that is not original 
equipment manufacturing. The department may negotiate the wage to be paid for 
inmate labor provided under prison industry service work contracts and export 
work contracts, and these wages may be less than the prevailing wage for work 
of a similar nature in the private sector, but may not be less 
than an hourly rate equal to the federal minimum wage. However, the 
Director of the Department of Corrections shall deduct the following from the 
gross earnings of the inmates engaged in prison industry service work in 
addition to any other required deductions:

 (1) 
If restitution to a particular victim or victims has been ordered by a court of 
appropriate jurisdiction, then twenty percent must be used to fulfill the 
restitution obligation.

 (2) 
If restitution to a particular victim or victims has not been ordered by a 
court of appropriate jurisdiction, or if the court-ordered restitution to a 
particular victim or victims has been satisfied, then twenty percent must be 
applied to the South Carolina Victim Compensation Fund.

 (3) 
Thirty-five percent must be used to pay the prisoner's child support 
obligations pursuant to law, court order, or agreement of the prisoner. These 
child support monies must be disbursed to the guardian of the child or children 
or to appropriate clerks of court, in the case of court ordered child support, 
for application toward payment of child support obligations, whichever is 
appropriate. If there are no child support obligations, then twenty-five 
percent must be used by the Department of Corrections to defray the cost of the 
prisoner's room and board. Furthermore, if there are no child support 
obligations, then ten percent must be made available to the inmate during his 
incarceration for the purchase of incidentals pursuant to item (4). This is in 
addition to the ten percent used for the same purpose in item (4).

 (4) 
Ten percent must be made available to the inmate during his incarceration for 
the purchase of incidentals. Any monies made available to the inmate for the 
purchase of incidentals also may be distributed to the person or persons of the 
inmate's choice.

 (5) 
Ten percent must be held in an interest bearinginterest-bearing escrow account for