Baltimore County Detention Center inmates are not entitled to minimum wage for work they perform at the county’s recycling plant in Cockeysville, a federal judge has ruled.
In an opinion issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher granted summary judgment in favor of Baltimore County, finding that the inmates are not “employees” under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Prisoners who worked at the recycling plant received $20 a day and often worked 10- to 12-hour shifts in brutal conditions, according to the lawsuit.
In winter, the open-air facility was freezing cold and inmates were not provided with adequate clothing to keep warm; some resorted to grabbing discarded clothing off the conveyer belt that carried trash and recyclables, according to court documents.
The work involved sorting trash from recyclable material so that the county could sell “bales” of recyclables to the highest bidders.
The lawsuit also claimed inmates were inadequately fed for the long hours they were asked to work, receiving only one bologna sandwich per shift. One former shift supervisor testified as part of the lawsuit that he looked the other way when workers ate food scraps that came down the conveyer belt because he was concerned they weren’t receiving enough food.
A group of inmates filed their minimum wage lawsuit, which ultimately became a class-action suit, in January 2021.
Howard B. Hoffman, the lawyer for the inmates, said he plans to appeal Gallagher’s decision to the...
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