Cassidy, Colleagues Introduce BILL to GIVE Bureau of Prisons Officers FAIR PAY

WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced thePay Our Correctional Officers Fairly Actto ensure fair pay for U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees in rural areas. The bill will help to address staffing shortages at Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Oakdale in Allen Parish and FCC Pollock in Grant Parish by allowing for competitive pay that better reflects the cost of living, commute times, alternative careers, and the hard work and dedication of BOP employees.
“Underpaying correctional officers leads to fatigue, which leads to mistakes and safety risks. If we want criminals to remain behind bars, then we need to provide Bureau of Prisons employees with workable conditions. This goes for FCC Oakdale, Pollock, and the rest of Louisiana,”said Dr. Cassidy.
U.S. Representative Randy Weber (TX-14) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Every day, federal correctional officers put their lives on the line to maintain order, enforce the law, and keep dangerous criminals behind bars,”said Representative Weber.“They serve with grit, integrity, and resolve—and they deserve to be paid accordingly. This bill delivers a long-overdue pay raise to correctional officers across the country. It’s a common-sense investment in public safety that will help us recruit and retain the best in the field.”
Cassidy was joined by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in introducing the legislation.
Background
The shortage of correctional officers has grown each year over the past four years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 7% decline in correctional officers by 2032. Understaffed prisons and overworked employees have created increasingly dangerous work environments.
FCC Oakdale houses approximately 2,000 federal inmates and faces unsustainably low staffing levels. These vacancies force FCC Oakdale to rely on mandatory overtime and using support staff to guard inmates just to meet the basic safety needs of its mission. FCC Pollok is facing similar shortages.
Under current policies, BOP uses cooks, teachers, and nurses to guard inmates. This temporary fix pulls employees away from their usual duties and negatively impacts inmates by limiting visitations, recreational time, and academic enrichment opportunities.
BOP employees are usually paid on the General Schedule (GS) pay scale, with slight pay modifications for correctional officers. Locality raises are determined by comparisons of local private sector salary rates, not by cost of living. An individual’s rate is based on where he or she works, not where he or she lives. Places located outside of these locality pay areas are compensated on a lower Rest of US (RUS) pay scale.
Cassidy has urged the BOP to address staffing shortages in the past, highlighting the challenges at FCC Oakdale in 2022 and calling for staffing increases at both Oakdale and Pollock.
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