# Are prison inmates required to work past retirement age? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384 "2012-05-09T13:09:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/21 "2012-05-10T12:32:37Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > **Little Nemo** , do they allow musical groups (Bands) in any of the prisons you know of? What’s your last name, **Jake**? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/22 "2012-05-10T18:44:50Z")
So what happens if the inmate refuses to work? Do they put him in prison? ---
**Author:** ![lilshawnb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9dc877/32.png) [@lilshawnb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilshawnb)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/23 "2012-05-10T19:04:00Z")
From my… “experience”, at a minimum security facility, if you refuse work, you lose “good time”, which here is 20% of your sentence, calculated every 3 months. Myself, I did not work. I slept in, watched TV and played cards all day, all while getting “lay in” pay. Basically, I got paid 40 cents a day to do whatever I wanted. The place I was at had no fences, I was allowed outside anytime from 9 am to 9 pm, but of course had to stay on the grounds. The reason I didn’t have a job was because I only had a short time to stay there, about 45 days. Other people did anything from picking up trash along highways, taking care of the upkeep of public places(parks, city buildings, etc), as well as cooking for the general population and cooking for a local Veterans Administration Hospital. Those who worked made anywhere from 60 cents a day, to a dollar a day, to a normal, minimum wage pay. I was there, believe it or not, for a hot check that I wrote when I was 18 years old. Anyways, that’s the story from someone who’s been there. As far as retirement age, I saw 70 year olds going out and working Monday through Friday. Maximum security inmates are not allowed to work. They are allowed a few hours out per day in their day room, where they can play cards or watch TV. Medium security inmates are only allowed to work on their prison grounds, those jobs being things like a librarian, a cook or a janitor. Minimum security is more like a college campus that you can’t leave. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/24 "2012-05-10T20:03:36Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > So what happens if the inmate refuses to work? Do they put him in prison? Generally you’re going to lose privileges like watching TV or buying things from the commissary. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/25 "2012-05-10T20:24:06Z")
> [@lilshawnb](#): > > Maximum security inmates are not allowed to work. Maybe where you were incarcerated it works that way, but the max guys in our system do indeed have jobs. Some are fairly coveted and may pay $2-3/hr or so. Prison woodshop is popular, as is doing more complex building maintenance tasks. I’ve got inmates requesting I adjust their (often legitimate) work restrictions to allow them to work harder at these jobs. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/26 "2012-05-11T15:01:34Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Most medical licensing boards of which I am aware would consider a felony conviction to be evidence of unethical behavior, and as such, the convicted felon’s medical license would be suspended at least, if not revoked. As a complete tangent, I wonder how many still-licensed doctors and lawyers are active inmates in the prison system with a felony on their record. Not damn many, but I bet there are a few. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/27 "2012-05-11T15:38:25Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > As a complete tangent, I wonder how many still-licensed doctors and lawyers are active inmates in the prison system with a felony on their record. Not damn many, but I bet there are a few. Probably. Licensing boards can act more slowly than the judicial system does at times. One doc came into us convicted of murder. He was here for 3 months before the licensing board sent in a notice of suspension of his license. The had to wait for his criminal conviction to occur to take their action, and that took a bit of time. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/28 "2012-05-11T16:40:03Z")
Allow me to confirm what Qadgop has said; maximum security prisoners most definitely work. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/29 "2012-05-12T05:08:04Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Often times states have hotels or outright resorts in there state parks [like](http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/overnightfacilities/tabid/702/Default.aspx) [these](http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/745/default.aspx). I don’t see why they couldn’t have prisoners take reservations since they are totally contained within the state (and on state land). The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources operates campgrounds, rental cabins, and lodges on Park land. Most of these are in great demand, and you need to make reservations, sometimes months in advance, to get good spots. The reservations phone center s operated by prison labor. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384/30 "2012-05-16T18:38:08Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > I have a question: I’ve been following the case of a medical doctor (a very good one, by all accounts) who was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for a sex offense. Is it likely that this man will be assigned to a work in which he could use his professional experience (i. e. assisting the prison medical staff)? As noted, it’s probably impossible nowadays. But [url=[O. Henry - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Henry)]according to Wikipedia[/ur], O. Henry was employed as a prison pharmacist while he was in prison. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-prison-inmates-required-to-work-past-retirement-age/621384.md?page=1)