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Lawyers Seek Higher Wage For Nevada Inmates Doing State Work

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A lawsuit claims state inmates who perform manual labor outside correction facilities are paid well below Nevada's minimum wage of $8 per hour, making their work akin to slave labor.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the lawsuit claims work by inmates cleaning state roadsides and using heavy equipment like chainsaws to clear vegetation risk injuries for a pay rate as low as $3 per day.

The attorneys argue that an inmate wage increase would not affect the state's coffers.

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Instead, the money could be transferred from the state forestry division to the Nevada Department of Corrections.