BOP Program Statement 8120.04 § 5

The accuracy of inmate pay grade classification (FPI Form 82, Job Grading Sheet) may be

checked during program reviews and other audit activities (e.g., external audits and OMB A-123

reviews). An audit sample that displays a large degree of disparity between the duties performed

and the work as described on the Form 82 will be sufficient to require further review of inmate

job classifications for that FPI factory.

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Chapter 3. Recruitment and Hiring Practices

1. § 345.31 Recruitment.

Inmate workers for FPI locations may be recruited through admission and orientation lectures or

through direct recruiting.

a. Admission and Orientation Lectures. Each Factory Manager is required to ensure a lecture

(or video presentation) is given to each group of inmates during the Admission and Orientation

(A&O) program. Each location must have a written lecture or outline to ensure that all inmate

A&O classes receive the same information. A&O presentations should include physical tours of

FPI operations whenever possible.

An appropriate amount of time must be left open to answer questions from inmates.

Each lecture or video presentation must, at a minimum, cover the following topics:

■ An introduction to FPI, including its mission.

■ FPI worker standard expectations.

■ Inmate pay and benefits.

■ Local rules and hours of operation.

■ Recruitment, hiring, and dismissal procedures.

■ Safety and sanitation responsibilities.

■ The products, their uses, and the major customers at the local FPI factory.

■ The value of the FPI work experience in correctional adjustment and in skills

development for reentry.

b. Direct Recruiting. The Factory Manager may solicit inmates with needed skills for

employment in FPI. The Factory Manager and other FPI employees may inform prospective

workers of the benefits of a career with FPI prior to receipt of the workers’ applications for

employment.

2. § 345.32 Hiring.

(a) Inmate workers are ordinarily hired through waiting lists. Except as noted in §345.33,

inmates are to be placed on the waiting lists in order of receipt of applications for work

with Industries, and are to be hired in the same sequence.

(b) Waiting lists are to be maintained and kept available for scrutiny by auditors and other staff

with a need to know. SOI's are encouraged to maintain a waiting list for each FPI factory.

The Factory Manager must maintain a waiting list for the operation and provide waiting list

information upon request from FPI’s Corporate Branch.

3. § 345.33 Waiting list hiring exceptions.

(a) Needed skills. An inmate may be hired ahead of other inmates on the waiting list if the

inmate possesses needed skills and the SOI documents the reasons for the action in the

position classification files.

The Factory Manager must maintain this documentation. Inmates selected to perform PIECP

work are considered to possess needed skills for the specific PIECP work assignments for which

they are selected.

(b) Prior FPI work assignment. An inmate with prior FPI work experience during the inmate's

current commitment and with no break in custody will ordinarily be placed within the top

ten percent of the waiting lists unless the inmate was transferred for disciplinary reasons,

was placed in segregation, or voluntarily left the FPI work assignment for non-program

reasons (i.e. for some reason other than formal education, vocational training, drug abuse

or similar formal programs). For example, an inmate transferred administratively for

nondisciplinary reasons, and who has documented credit as a prior worker, is covered

under the provisions of this paragraph.

An inmate with prior FPI work experience will similarly not be placed in the top 10 percent of

the waiting lists if the inmate was previously terminated from FPI employment for violating the

inmate worker standards.

(c) Industry closing and relocation. When an FPI factory closes in a location with two or more

FPI factories, an inmate worker affected may be transferred to remaining FPI factories

ahead of the top portion of the inmates on the waiting lists, so there is no break in active

duty with FPI. Such actions are also in order where the work force of an industry is reduced

to meet institution or FPI needs. An inmate transferred under the provisions of this part will

have the same benefits as any intra-industry transfer.

(d) Disciplinary transfers. An inmate who is a disciplinary transfer from the last institution

designated and who wishes re-assignment in FPI at the receiving institution may be hired

on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the SOI, who should consider the security level

and reasons for the misconduct. Such an inmate, despite prior experience, is not due special

placement on the waiting list, is not given advance hiring preference, and does not receive

consideration for accelerated promotion back to the grade held at time of transfer.

The determination of whether to hire an inmate who is a disciplinary transfer is made by the

Factory Manager.

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e) Special needs. For special needs, such as Inmate Financial Responsibility assignment to

assist in paying a significant financial obligation or for release preparation, the unit team

may recommend an inmate for priority placement on the waiting list. Such placement must

be documented and include the reason for the exception.

See the Program Statement Financial Responsibility Program, Inmate. Specifically, special

needs include but are not limited to inmates within a certain amount of time of their projected

release dates; inmates who are honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. military; and inmates

enrolled in the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program who have a certain minimum obligation.

See the SOP UNICOR Inmate Waiting List Exceptions for additional information.

4. § 345.34 Refusal to employ.

(a) The SOI has authority to refuse an FPI assignment to an inmate who, in the judgment of the

SOI, would constitute a serious threat to the orderly and safe operation of the FPI factory.

A refusal to assign must be documented by a memorandum to the unit team listing reasons

for the refusal, with a copy to the position classification files in FPI. Typically, the reasons

should include other earlier (ordinarily within the past twelve months) documented

violations of the FPI inmate worker standards or institution disciplinary regulations.

(b) The refusal to assign is to be rescinded when, in the judgment of the SOI, the worker no

longer constitutes a serious threat to the FPI industrial operation.

The Factory Manager is responsible for determining when a refusal to assign is appropriate and

consistent with this section.

5. § 345.35 Assignments to FPI.

(a) An inmate or detainee may be considered for assignment with FPI unless the inmate is a

pretrial inmate or is currently under an order of deportation, exclusion, or removal. However,

an inmate or detainee who is currently under an order of deportation, exclusion, or removal

may be considered for assignment with FPI if the Attorney General has determined that the

inmate or detainee cannot be removed from the United States because the designated country

of removal will not accept his/her return. Any request by an inmate for consideration must be

made through the unit team. FPI does not discriminate on the bases of race, color, religion,

ethnic origin, age, or disability.

Upon receiving written documentation from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

(ICE) or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) that an inmate has been issued a

deportation, exclusion, or removal order, the unit team adds the appropriate case management

assignment (CMA) in the Bureau’s inmate management system. The Factory Manager must not

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include any inmate with these CMAs when determining eligibility for an FPI assignment, except

as specified in Chapter 4, Section 4(d).

These inmates will be reassigned to non-FPI work assignments for which they are otherwise

eligible. The unit team must also remove inmates with these CMAs from the FPI waiting list,

except as specified in Chapter 4, Section 4(d). Inmates for whom no decision has been made to

deport are unaffected by this policy. The Factory Manager and appropriate Associate Warden

coordinate notification to affected inmates of their pending removal from FPI work assignments.

(b) The SOI ordinarily makes assignments based on the recommendation of the unit team.

(1) New workers are ordinarily assigned at pay grade five. All first-time inmate workers shall

enter at pay grade five and may be required to successfully complete a course in pre-industrial training or on-the-job training (as available) before promotion to pay grade

four.

(2) An inmate who has not successfully completed pre-industrial or on-the-job training

remains at pay grade five for at least 30 days.

Inmates undergoing such training should expect a period of at least 30 days for successful

completion of the training. After 30 days, promotions may occur based on available openings

and job performance.

(3) An inmate hired after having resigned voluntarily from FPI may be excused from pre-industrial training and may be hired at a pay grade based on previous training and

experience.

For example, an inmate who previously worked in the FPI print factory and is rehired to work

again in the print factory may be exempted from pre-industrial training. An inmate who

previously worked in the print factory and is rehired to work in the sewing factory may be

required to complete a course in pre-industrial training at the Factory Manager’s discretion.

(4) Employing job-share workers is an excellent method of allowing the maximum number of

inmates to take part in the FPI work experience. Job-share work is also encouraged because it

grants inmates the opportunity to participate in a wide range of other correctional programs.

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Chapter 4. Inmate Worker Standards a nd Performance Appraisal

1. § 345.40 General.

This subpart authorizes the establishment of minimum work standards for inmate workers

assigned to the Industries program at all field locations. The SOI may reproduce these standards

and may also develop additional local guidelines to augment these standards and to adapt them to

local needs and conditions. Local Industries shall place these standards and any additional local

guidelines on display at appropriate locations within the industrial sites. Inmates shall be

provided with a copy of these standards and local guidelines, and shall sign receipts

acknowledging they have received and understand them before beginning work in the Industries

program. In the case of a disabled inmate, alternate media or means of communicating this

information and indicating the inmate's receipt may be provided, if necessary as a reasonable

accommodation.

(a) At a minimum, each industrial location is to have work standards for each of the following

areas:

(1) Safety—ensuring the promotion of workplace safety and the avoidance of activities that

could result in injury to self or others.

(2) Quality assurance—ensuring that work is done as directed by the supervisor in an

attentive manner so as to minimize the chance of error.

(3) Personal conduct and hygiene—ensuring the promotion of harmony and sanitary

conditions in the workplace through observation of good hygiene and full cooperation

with other inmate workers, work supervisors, and training staff.

(4) Punctuality and productivity—ensuring the productive and efficient use of time while the

inmate is on work assignment or in training.

(b) Compliance with work standards. Each inmate assigned to FPI shall comply with all work

standards pertaining to his or her work assignment. Adherence to the standards should be

considered in evaluating the inmate's work performance and documented in individual

hiring, retention, and promotion/demotion situations.

2. INMATE WORKER STANDARDS

The Factory Manager may develop additional local guidelines. In general, inmate industrial

workers should engage in activities that promote workplace safety and avoid activities that could

result in injury to self or others. Occupational health and safety questions may be directed to the

local Safety Manager or the Health Services Division’s Industrial Hygienist. Health and safety

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incidents must be promptly reported in accordance with local incident reporting procedures, and

FPI corporate management must be notified through the chain of command within one business

day.

a. Inmate Worker Safety: Minimum Acceptable Standards. Staff are to advise inmates to:

■ Follow posted safety rules and procedures at all times while on work assignment.

■ Report all injuries to the work supervisor immediately, no matter how minor or trivial the

injury may appear.

■ Use equipment, tools, or machinery only when directed by the work supervisor and only

in the manner instructed.

■ Keep the work area neat and orderly as required by local safety rules and by the work

supervisor, so as not to pose a safety hazard to self or to others.

■ Always use required protective equipment provided at the work site. Such equipment

includes, but is not limited to, safety shoes, eye protection, ear protection, respirators or

face masks, protective clothing, and other items that may be designated by the Factory

Manager.

■ Actively participate in regularly scheduled safety talks and other safety-related training.

■ Maintain a personal appearance that meets FPI factory safety requirements, e.g., hair may

not be so long as to create an unnecessary safety hazard in the judgment of the Factory

Manager.

b. Quality Assurance Activities: Minimum Acceptable Standards. Staff are to advise

inmates to:

■ Perform the work exactly to the specifications the supervisor assigns.

■ Be attentive in performing the work so as to minimize the chance of errors.

■ Make no changes in materials or production procedures without the work supervisor’s

explicit permission for each change made.

■ Report to the supervisor, and, upon the supervisor’s instructions, repair or correct product

defects resulting from defective workmanship, whether done by oneself or by others.

■ Cooperate with work measurement activities to monitor work progress and quality in

production.

c. Personal Conduct and Hygiene: Minimum Acceptable Standards. Staff are to advise

inmates to:

■ Work without causing friction with other inmate workers and cooperate fully with peers.

■ Obey and cooperate fully with the work supervisor or training instructor by successfully

completing assigned tasks in the manner prescribed.

■ Not bring prohibited items to the work area.

■ Observe basic standards of grooming and good hygiene.

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d. Punctuality and Productivity: Minimum Acceptable Standards. Staff are to advise

inmates to:

■ Report to the assigned work or training area promptly when coming to work at the

beginning of a shift, after meals, or after breaks.

■ Remain at work during the time designated by the local work schedule.

■ Use work time efficiently and keep nonproductive time to a minimum during hours of

FPI factory operation.

■ Meet work requirements (production) the work supervisor establishes for those

workstations having no specific production standards.

■ Meet all established production and quality standards.

■ Demonstrate an ability to adapt to changing work conditions to meet the goals of the FPI

factory (including job reassignments).

■ Demonstrate a willingness to develop additional skills through participation in, and

completion of, on the job training and formal education and training programs.

■ Comply with rules, instructions, and guidance pertaining to the inmate payroll system.

3. § 345.41 Performance appraisal for inmate workers.

Work supervisors should complete a performance appraisal form for each inmate semi-annually,

by March 31 and September 30, or upon termination or transfer from the industrial work

assignment. Copies shall be sent to the unit team. Inmate workers should discuss their appraisals

with their supervisors at a mutually agreeable time in order to improve their performance.

Satisfactory and unsatisfactory performance ratings shall be based on the standards in

§345.40(a).

(a) The SOI is to ensure that evaluations are done and are submitted to unit teams in a timely

manner.

The Factory Manager must ensure that evaluations are conducted and submitted in a timely

manner.

(b) The SOI or a designee may promote an inmate to a higher grade level if an opening exists

when the inmate's skills, abilities, qualifications, and work performance are sufficiently

developed to enable the inmate to carry out a more complex FPI factory assignment

successfully, when the inmate has met the institution's time-in-grade (unless waived by the

SOI), and when the inmate has abided by the inmate worker standards. Conversely, the SOI

or SOI designee may demote an inmate worker for failing to abide by the inmate worker

standards. Such demotions shall be fully documented.

The Factory Manager or their designee must establish minimum times in grade, which must not

be less than the following:

■ Fifth Grade to Fourth Grade. No time limit with a minimum of 30 days for inmates

who have not completed an FPI or pre-industrial training program.

■ All Other Promotions. Ninety days except at court processing/short term facilities such

as metropolitan correctional centers, federal detention centers, and metropolitan detention

centers, where the minimum time in grade is 30 days. These facilities need to maintain

additional pay incentives to encourage short-term inmates to work in FPI.

The minimum time-in-grade requirement may not apply when an inmate has prior FPI work

experience or possesses needed skills and is eligible for accelerated promotion. At the Senior

Operations Manager or Operations Manager’s discretion, an accelerated promotion may be

applicable in the following situations:

■ Non-disciplinary transfer.

■ FPI factory closing.

■ After 30 days on writ.

■ After 30 days on medical idle.

■ After 30 days in administrative detention.

■ Withdrawal, in good faith, from a training, drug rehabilitation, or similar program.

■ Factory need, due to a short waiting list or short average sentence length at the location,

with General Manager approval.

c. Performance Ratings and Corrective Actions. Factory Managers ensure inmate

performance ratings and corrective actions are used consistently to promote improved inmate

work performance.

Regular documentation of satisfactory and unsatisfactory work performance is encouraged to

form a basis for the inmate performance rating. Staff must fully document any action taken that

directly increases or reduces inmate pay, benefits, or official awards; the documentation should

include the inmate worker standards.

For example, a specific corrective action would be that the Factory Manager might disallow an

inmate’s vacation time for the month due to unsatisfactory work performance. This would apply

only to the months in which the unsatisfactory work performance occurs. As another example, a

Factory Manager may demote an inmate to a lower pay grade for failing to meet the inmate

worker standards, with full documentation to the unit team for the inmate central file and

eventual documentation in the performance appraisal.

4. § 345.42 Inmate worker dismissal.

The SOI may remove an inmate from Industries work status in cooperation with the unit team.

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Working in cooperation with the unit team means, at a minimum, the Factory Manager must

fully document the reason for dismissal in a memorandum to the unit team.

(a) The SOI may remove an inmate from FPI work status according to the conditions outlined

in the pay and benefits section of this policy and in cooperation with the unit team.

See Chapter 5, Table 1. As noted therein, among other grounds, the Factory Manager may

remove an inmate from FPI work status for a serious violation, or repeated less serious

violations, of the inmate worker standards. An inmate may also be dismissed if, in the judgment

of the Factory Manager, the inmate constitutes a threat to the safe and orderly operation of the

FPI facility.

In the case of removal for violating the inmate worker standards or for constituting a threat to the

safe and orderly operation of the FPI facility, the inmate loses all longevity and vacation credit;

loses their pay grade; is placed on the bottom of the waiting list, with the Factory Manager’s

approval, if reapplying to FPI; and, if rehired at the discretion of the Factory Manager, does not

receive accelerated promotion. For removed inmates who were working in FPI to get credit

under the First Step Act of 2018 to meet an identified work need, the applicable fail code will be

entered in the Bureau’s inmate management system in accordance with Program Statement First

Step Act of 2018 – Time Credits: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4).

(b) An inmate may be removed from FPI work status for failure to comply with any court-mandated financial responsibility. (See 28 CFR 545.11(d)).

See Program Statement Financial Responsibility Program, Inmate for additional information.

The Factory Manager must fully document the reason for dismissal in a memorandum to the unit

team.

(c) An inmate found to have committed a prohibited act (whether or not it is FPI related)

resulting in segregation or disciplinary transfer is also to be dismissed from Industries

based on an unsatisfactory performance rating for failure to be at work.

( d) Any inmate or detainee who is a pretrial inmate or who is currently under an order of

deportation, exclusion, or removal shall be removed from any FPI work assignment and

reassigned to a non-FPI work assignment for which the inmate is eligible. However, an

inmate or detainee who is currently under an order of deportation, exclusion, or removal

may be retained in the FPI assignment if the Attorney General has determined that the

inmate or detainee cannot be removed from the United States because the designated

country of removal will not accept his/her return.

Upon receiving written documentation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the

Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) that an inmate has been issued a deportation,

exclusion, or removal order, the unit team adds the appropriate CMA in the Bureau’s inmate

management system. The Factory Manager must remove from FPI work assignments all inmates

with these CMAs. These inmates will be reassigned to non-FPI work assignments for which they

are otherwise eligible.

In addition, inmates with a deportation order who are appealing the decision are ineligible for

FPI work assignments. If the inmate’s appeal is granted, the inmate is then eligible to apply for

an FPI work assignment, as they no longer have a CMA related to a deportation, exclusion, or

removal order. If they previously worked for FPI, their name must be placed in the top 10

percent of the FPI waiting list.

The Factory Manager coordinates notification to the affected inmate of their pending removal

from an FPI work assignment. Staff should remain sensitive and communicate with affected non-U.S. citizen inmates concerning this issue. Non-U.S. citizen inmates for whom no decision has

yet been made to deport are unaffected by this policy.

It has been determined that Cubans (Mariels and non-Mariels) cannot be removed from the

United States and therefore should be considered for assignment with FPI. All other non-U.S.

citizens who have been ordered deported, excluded, or removed, should not be considered for an

assignment with FPI, unless ICE notifies the Correctional Programs Branch, Central Office, that

a designated country of removal will not accept the inmate’s return. This information is then

provided to Bureau staff. Inmates who claim countries will not accept them must obtain from

ICE such a determination to be retained in FPI work assignments. Staff having questions

concerning which countries have such a determination should consult with the Correctional

Programs Branch. Refer to the Program Statement Institution Hearing Program for additional

information.

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Chapter 5. Inmate Pay and Benefits

1. § 345.50 General.

Title 18 U. S. Code section 4126 authorizes FPI to compensate inmates under rules and

regulations promulgated by the Attorney General. It is the policy of FPI to provide compensation

to FPI inmate workers through various conditions of pay and benefits, except as otherwise

provided in these regulations.

The various pay and benefit conditions allow performance-based recognition of the value of the

inmate work performed based on the standards in the previous chapter. Compensation in pay

grades and other pay and benefit conditions is designed to be equitable and constructive for

individual inmates.

2. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

This chapter provides a description of the various FPI inmate pay and benefit conditions as well

as guidelines for granting, withholding, and rescinding them. Guidelines for major inmate

worker benefits are also summarized in the table following this chapter. Additional detailed

instructions for computing and executing payroll and benefit obligations may be found in the

inmate payroll section of the Program Statement Federal Prison Industries Accounting

Procedures for Civilian and Inmate Payrolls.

3. § 345.51 Inmate pay.

(a) Grade levels. Inmate workers in FPI locations receive pay at five levels ranging from 5th

grade pay (lowest) to 1st grade pay (highest).

Inmate pay will be assessed at regular intervals and established via pay tables that are approved

by FPI’s Board of Directors and implemented through memoranda issued by FPI. The grade

system does not apply to inmates performing PIECP work, who receive pay based on the local

prevailing wage, subject to allowable deductions, which may amount to 80% of gross wages,

in addition to deductions from net wages for legal obligations under the Inmate Financial

Responsibility Program.

(b) Eligibility.

(1) An inmate shall accrue vacation time, longevity service credit, and shall receive holiday

pay for the period of time the inmate is officially assigned to the Industries work detail.

For limitations on claims, refer to § 345.66.

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See Section 21 of this chapter for information on which benefits are retained under various

conditions (including transfer, writ, and administrative detention). While performing PIECP

work, inmates accrue vacation time and longevity service credit (but are not paid longevity pay)

and receive holiday pay.

(2) Inmate workers may be eligible for premium pay as specified in §345.52. Eligibility for

other pay and benefits are described separately in this subpart.

(3) FPI pay and benefits are lost in cases of disciplinary transfer and segregation.

(4) An inmate returned to the institution due to program failure at a Community Corrections

Center or while on parole or escape is not entitled to credit for time spent in Industries

prior to said program failure. This rule also applies to any other program failure which

results in a break in confinement status.

Inmate workers who wish to secure an FPI assignment above grade 4 of compensation or wish to

work in incentive pay (piece work) or PIECP positions must have obtained a GED or high school

diploma. However, if labor force needs require, inmates who do not meet the literacy

requirements may be employed in FPI incentive pay positions if they are simultaneously enrolled

in a literacy or related program, provided they are found to be progressing at an acceptable level

as defined by the Supervisor of Education. Failure to maintain satisfactory progress will result in

termination of FPI incentive pay employment. Refer to Program Statement Literacy Program

for additional information.

4. § 345.52 Premium pay.

Payment of premium pay to selected inmates is authorized. The total number of qualifying

inmates may not exceed 15% of first grade inmates at a location.

(a) Eligibility. Inmates in first grade pay status may be considered for premium pay.

(b) The selection process. Candidates for premium pay must be nominated by a foreman on

the FPI staff, and recommended on the basis of specific posted criteria by a selection

committee assigned by the SOI.

(1) The SOI, as the chief selecting official, must sign approval for all premium pay inmate

selections. This authority may not be delegated below the level of Acting SOI.

(2) The selected candidate(s) are notified by the FPI Manager or by a posted list on the FPI

bulletin board. A record of the selection and who was on the selection board is kept for

documentation purposes. An inmate nominated to be a premium pay inmate may refuse

the appointment without prejudice.

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The Factory Manager serves as the chief selecting official for premium pay positions.

Selection Criteria. Candidates for the position are rated based on traits that may be posted at

the institution. Sample traits are:

■ Knowledge and Ability.

■ Leadership.

■ Initiative.

■ Past Job Performance.

■ Positive Attitude.

(c) [Reserved]

(d) Pay rate. Premium pay inmates receive a specified amount over and above all other pay and

benefits to which they may be entitled (e.g., longevity pay, overtime, piecework rates, etc.).

Premium pay is also paid for vacation, holiday, and administrative hours.

P remium pay rates are implemented by memoranda issued by FPI.

(e) Duties of premium pay inmates. Premium pay is a means of recognizing the value of

those traits supportive of morale and good institutional adjustment. It is not a form of bonus

or incentive pay for highly productive inmates.

Premium pay workers may be expected to help with ensuring the flow of materials to

workstations, more complex clerical and accounting tasks, warehouse organization, quality

assurance integrity, training other inmates, etc. Inmates receiving premium pay must not be

used in any way as supervisors of other inmates. Specific duties of premium pay inmates are

determined by local conditions and articulated by local staff. FPI locations employing premium

pay inmates must keep appropriately executed FPI Form 82s, Job Grading Sheet, on hand for

each premium pay position and discuss the specific duties thoroughly with each new premium

pay worker.

(f) Transfer status of premium pay inmates. Premium pay status may not be transferred from

institution to institution with the inmate worker. Premium pay status must be earned at each

location.

In recognition of the often-singular contributions of such workers to FPI, Factory Managers are

requested to add a special notation to the evaluation forms of such inmates prior to transfer, or

to note their special status with the FPI factory when discussing transferred inmates’ prior

experience with the receiving Factory Manager.

(g) Removals from premium pay status. Removal from premium pay status may occur for

failure to demonstrate the premium pay selection traits or for failure to abide by the inmate

worker standards set forth in this policy. All removals from premium pay status shall be

documented on the inmate's evaluation form. The following conditions also may result in

removal from premium pay status:

(1) Any premium pay inmate found to have committed any level 100 or 200 series offense by

the DHO is automatically removed from premium pay status whether or not the offense

was FPI-related.

(2) Inmates absent from work for more than 30 consecutive calendar days may be removed

from premium pay status by the SOI.

The Factory Manager is responsible for removing inmates from premium pay status in

accordance with this section.

h. Distribution of Premium Pay Positions. FPI locations must make every effort to put

premium pay positions in each major department, including the Business Office, Quality

Assurance, and Warehouse. Distribution of Premium Pay positions is limited only by the

number of first grade positions approved at each institution (15% of first grade positions).

The Senior Operations Manager or Operations Manager must annually review premium pay

and confirm that all premium pay inmates are still eligible and that the 15% limit has not

been exceeded.

5. INCENTIVE PAY PLANS

Except as provided for in the Program Statement Federal Prison Industries Accounting

Procedures for Civilian and Inmate Payrolls, the maximum pay rate for each grade under the

pay system may not exceed 120% of the standard hourly pay rate for corresponding pay grades.

The Senior Operations Manager or Operations Manager may approve hourly rates under

incentive pay plans to exceed 120% of the corresponding standard hourly rates under unusual

circumstances for a period not to exceed three months.