work-release

[wurk-ri-lees]

adjective

1. of or relating to a program under which prisoners may work outside of prison while serving their sentences.

Word History and Origins

Origin of work-release¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

In 2008, he agreed to an exceedingly lenient plea deal with federal prosecutors that resulted in a 13-month prison sentence, with freedom granted 12 hours a day, six days a week, under a work-release program.

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While most incarcerated workers today help maintain correctional facilities, others are leased out to private companies or take part in work-release programs.

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Laws in some states spell it out clearly: Prisoners aren’t classified as employees, whether they’re working inside correctional facilities or for outside businesses through prison contracts or work-release programs.

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More than 800,000 prisoners have some kind of job, from serving food inside facilities to working outside for private companies, including work-release assignments everywhere from KFC to Tyson Foods poultry plants.

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Family members said their claim against the county running the work-release program was dismissed, and their lawyer told them the best they could hope for was a small settlement from the service center.

Read more on Seattle Times