holliscary
Member
What is the name of your state? I am employed by the state of new jersey at one of our prisons.
Our union contract provides for/dictates a 30 minute "duty free, uninterrupted" break for which we are not paid. We are scheduled for 8.5 hours per day and paid for 8.
Our supervisors schedule our breaks.
Because of the nature of a maximum security prison it isn't uncommon for our movement in and out of the prison to be held up.
Our supervisors have recently dictated that should we leave the prison and upon return from our break be held up from getting to our duty station we will be docked pay.
We are not allowed to bring phones inside, there is food in a staff lunch room that is less than desirable for most and there is no place at all that we can go to be undisturbed for any amount of time. This is not an exaggeration. I couldn't find a place that would provide me so much as three minutes peace from the inmates that I work with.
Most of my coworkers simply wish to go to their car to check texts, grab a snack in their car and return to work but are now scared to take the break for which they are not paid and are instead staying at work.
Our supervisors say, "if you choose to go out on your break then it's on you" I believe the perception is not that I choose to go outside but that I do not choose to stay in the prison. It's long been my contention that If I have not been convicted and I am not being paid I should not be held in prison.
To be clear, at the point that we would be held up we'd have already passed two layers of security awaiting the third, already be in the prison at the appropriate time and would be awaiting permission from the prison to move forward.
Do we have any legal ground to stand on here?
Thank you in advance
Our union contract provides for/dictates a 30 minute "duty free, uninterrupted" break for which we are not paid. We are scheduled for 8.5 hours per day and paid for 8.
Our supervisors schedule our breaks.
Because of the nature of a maximum security prison it isn't uncommon for our movement in and out of the prison to be held up.
Our supervisors have recently dictated that should we leave the prison and upon return from our break be held up from getting to our duty station we will be docked pay.
We are not allowed to bring phones inside, there is food in a staff lunch room that is less than desirable for most and there is no place at all that we can go to be undisturbed for any amount of time. This is not an exaggeration. I couldn't find a place that would provide me so much as three minutes peace from the inmates that I work with.
Most of my coworkers simply wish to go to their car to check texts, grab a snack in their car and return to work but are now scared to take the break for which they are not paid and are instead staying at work.
Our supervisors say, "if you choose to go out on your break then it's on you" I believe the perception is not that I choose to go outside but that I do not choose to stay in the prison. It's long been my contention that If I have not been convicted and I am not being paid I should not be held in prison.
To be clear, at the point that we would be held up we'd have already passed two layers of security awaiting the third, already be in the prison at the appropriate time and would be awaiting permission from the prison to move forward.
Do we have any legal ground to stand on here?
Thank you in advance
